Ranma 3030
by PlatinumPlayer
Summary: [AU scifi] A war is brewing, a rift widening between spacers and colonists. Ranko, a young spacer, will become the key it all in this turbulent time. She will fight to unlock her past and the reason her brother took the path he did.
1. Chapter 1

Ranma 3030

Author Notes: Yet another fic that popped into my head. A super far future setting filled with tech and science, where a new technology that is somehow linked to both Ranko and Ranma is becoming the leading tool for war. Will contain a lot of conspiracies, action, and relationships.

My spelling and grammar are both poor so please if you notice mistake inform me so I may correct them. No flames please.

- prologue -

It was cold… so cold. It felt as if she would die her limbs and body numb and unmoving. Her fitful mind still locked into the unforgiving embrace of sleep but suddenly and rudely awakened by a slap to her face and forced her heavy eyes wearily open. Before her was a face that's its lips moving without sound thanks to the thick numbness inside her mind. The lips frowned still she could not make sense of anything, it was so cold… so cold. Another sharp slap forced her to close her eyes and suck in a great gasp of air, filling her empty longs and her mind with long delayed thought.

"Hey! Hurry up, your going to miss it!" The girl who owned the face and lips spoke urgently but in a quick excited manner.

"Uh… where am I?" Ranko shook her head banishing the numb coils of sleep from her mind along with any memory of the cold she had just felt and the dream she knew she had. "And why where you slapping me?" She asked the stranger as she slipped out of a simple alcove that was cut in the wall. It was nothing more then a smooth an unattractive box with a less then comfortable surface for a person too rest on.

"Haha very funny" The girl rolled her eyes. "You know perfectly well where you are and you should be thinking me! If I hadn't wandered by you may have slept right thought it! Now are you just going to stand there and complain or come and see?" The voice said hottly and disappeared with its owner who ran down the narrow corridor that was lined with dozens of other alcoves that where just as identical and equally as bland as her own. Ranko stuck her tongue out at the girl rudely as she disappeared before standing and brushing the wrinkles out her cloths that had accumulated from movements in her sleep.

She could feel they where still deep in the hyper passage by the vibration of the floor and had no reason to hurry along after the stranger. It was a 6th sense of sorts all spacers had which gave them the uncanny ability to know things about the ship they where aboard. Right now she could tell they where slowing too collapse the passage and exit hyper-space. The process was relatively simple and could be preformed in seconds on most modern ships however the ship she was on now was all but modern, it was down right antique and if she was right it would take at least another ten minutes to slow to an acceptable speed.

The sudden aroma of food tickled her senses and caused her stomach to rumble and devour her train of thought with such force she could almost believe she hadn't ate in weeks. "I guess there's no helping it." She smiles down at her belly and slipped into her footwear which had been secured in a draw just below her alcove and made her way down the passage letting her nose lead her to the food.

She wore an attractive skintight black bodysuit that accented her athletic body. The suit was covered in sharp red stripes that matched her long crimson hair which she wore down over the back of her suit. The stripes indicated seams in the suit along her arms and legs; the most prominent one was a thick streak that ran from her collar all the way between her thighs which brightly showed of the long zipper like crease that sealed the suit closed around her. The suit was also very form fitting and easily showed off the definition of her muscles and her very athletic and healthy body. She didn't particularly like these skin suits as they made her feel it felt like she was vacuum packed inside a biopolymer bad as well as being practically naked but being the current colonist way of dress she was obligated to conform to it.

Her knees nearly gave out from the overwhelming assault on her scenes as she stepped into the crowed observation room a few minuets later. Dozens of other passengers littered the room sitting on couches and other relaxing furniture while enjoying bland meals that in her surprising state of hunger could have been considered royal rations; their warm tempting aromas causing her stomach to yell with pleading joy as she collected one of the basic travel rations from the generic dispensers along the walls. It was open and entering her mouth before she even reached one of the wall of observation windows.

"Shouldn't we be there by now?" A giddy voice floated over to her, turning she saw a gathering of two girls about her own age and a boy a little older. They where crowed around another window only a few meters away. The girls wore loud pink skin suits and didn't seem athletic at all, and the boy who wore a grey one was so skinny she thought a sneeze would knock him over. It was obvious to her that the three where colonists, they never seemed to care about their physical condition like spacers did. In space a person's physical condition determine life or death on a daily basis unlike it would colonists who lived shelter safe lives on stable ecologically controlled planets. It was that that made colonists considered themselves better then spacers. Too them spacers where trash who chose to breed and bear young anywhere they pleased even in the rusty bowls of a dilapidated cargo ship which hauled fertilizer from planet to planet.

"Any second now." The boy replied as the two girls glued their faces to the windows. Currently the only thing to see was the hyper channel; a tube of pure light that fluctuated endlessly through a spectrum of colors ranging from blues to reds.

Ranko bristled and turned away from the three planet spawned passengers. The pregidous between colonists and spacers was as old as space flight itself and has only grown worse in recent decades with the development of exo-frame armor the new preferred system for space combat. It wasn't a new idea. The frames where simply bio metallic exoskeleton with direct neural links for instantaneous control and command. What made them special however was the evolve ability of the frame which would over time customize itself to its user and even change its appearance and functionality to best match their needs. Simply put it was a living weapon system with endless potential to become more effective and deadly.

The reason for the new stress between colonists and Spacers was that the technology was developed by a spacer scientist who died suddenly from a lab accident. Their assistant who was a colonist and having worked so closely with the technologies and helped develop it inherited all rights and deeds related to them. This act of thief and the laws and regulations the colonists quickly enforced limiting spacer access and use of theses new systems has only widened the gap between them and colonists. She wouldn't be surprised if a war where to break out in the coming years giving the increased tension and hostility that keeps cropping up.

The ship gave a sudden sluggish lurch which tugged at the space behind her naval while her body remained still. In the instant the ship had finally reached collapse speed a great beam of light shot forth form it piercing into the infinite depths of the channel before her. Only moments later a blinding light filled the channel and quickly exploded towards them out of the depths an expanding glowing cloud of pure energy.

The method of exiting a hyper-channel was pretty simple all you had to do was destroy it and in the exact moment before you and the ship where too be engulfed and torn apart atom by atom by its explosive death; you surround the ship with a frequency bubble. The bubble being slightly different frequency or phase then the rest of the matter or anti matter in the channel, acts as a plug. Due to the absent of physical laws of the hyper channel the explosion dose not have physical mass and can not force the ship backwards in the channel so as the pressure from the collapse builds the ship is literally forced out of hyper-space time and pushed violently into normal space. It wasn't a pretty or an entirely appealing method of travel but it was the cheapest and most effective way to travel a strait line between two predetermined locations.

The blinding flash of the collapse lasted only a millisecond and as she blinked the windows where filled with countless stars, a planet and… she gasped. There it was the Advanced School of Terrain Research and Advancement. A.S.T.R.A. The most advanced and prestigious human school in or out of space. The sight before her was not awe inspiring in its smooth utilitarian architectural design which was dotted with countless sparkling windows, domes, and curved snaking walkways that attached themselves to other sections of the school that drifted around it like satellites. No, it was the sheer size of it. Astra was the largest structure ever built in space by mankind. Within it, it held several million people at any one time along with countless labs and research departments which studied everything from ship construction the environmental simulation or even weapon testing vaults as well as houses and entertainment facilities and much more.

She placed her hand on the glass as her eyes teared up a bit the others around her gasping and awing at the sight themselves. She made it… she actually made it. Closing her eyes the image of Astra remained in her mind. A spacer attending Astra… for a colonist it was some sort of sick joke, colonists who thought of the school as a place for nobles and high born and not a place for space trash. But she had over come the trials, over come the tests. She had risen above a billion applications to the school and stood out, even above countless colonists. The predidous did not stop with common people, it fully extended itself into business and culture and even the entrance application to Astra. To have been chosen from among the billion or more applicants, 90 of which where promising colonists was nothing short of a miracle. In fact she would be the first spacer in nearly 20 years to be attending Astra was poof enough of that fact.

"Oh wow! I can't believe it so big!" One of the girls's squealed whiles the other began to hop up and down excitedly. The boy laughed a bit and began to tell them all about it, it was obvious he was a past or current student at Astra but even so most of what he said didn't interest Ranko in the least having already thourly researched the school beforehand. With a growl of annoyance from all the noise they where making she walked away feeling somewhat pleased as the three cast her confuse glances. To think that such people could so easily gain entrance to Astra was sickening, no doubt they sent an unimpressive application and where accepted solely on the fact that they where a colonist.

She tossed her empty food package in a disposal bin and took another ration before vanishing into the depths of the ship. While theses earthiers where busy staring at the sight she would gather her things and prepare to disembark. Now that they where in normal space it wouldn't take long at all to dock and she didn't want to be stuck behind a mass of cheerful giggling colonists the wound of which would undoubtedly drive her mad before long. She entered the corridor of alcoves and made sure she hadn't forgotten anything from her bunk before passing to the back of the ship where a bored looking crew member sat behind a dirty counter. The doors to the cargo hold sitting ajar behind him possible never having been sealed the whole trip.

"I'd like my things." Ranko said as she stepped up to the man who favored her with an indifferent stare, his broken cracked face a true sign of an aged spacer. Spacers rarely afforded or cared for the rejuvenation technologies that allowed one to look young and beautiful up till the day they died. Spacers considered age a sign of respect, the older a spacer was the more he had seen and done and thought it a badge of honor to display it freely no matter ho ugly the sight.

"Arm please." He said dryly and Ranko extended her arm the man taking it by the wrist and turning it over palm up before bringing a hand held scanner over her arm below where he held. The distortion from the bream made her suit shift as if melting and grow translucent, followed by her skin and tissue as it faded into a translucent state till the scanner found the bio chip that grew between her bones and verified her identity. It was never fun to watch seeing your arm apparently disintegrated but in reality the beam only cascaded special light partials into the cells and material of her suit. Their half-life only a few seconds so as the man nodded satisfied with her identity he pulled the scanner away allowing her arm to fade quickly back into existence.

"Spacer ehe?" He said now favoring her with a wide ugly grin, several of his teeth missing as his cracked winked face becoming more so in his happiness. She smiled back at the man warmly as he turned and entered the cargo hold, limping from some old injury. Spacers where a very close nit bunch it didn't matter where you where from or what you did as long as you had spacer blood other spacers would welcome you with a hearty pat on the back and an offer of friendship. Of course there where always black sheep's and the les desirable sort like smugglers and pirates that weren't so open but over all everyone got along like family.

The man returned shortly with small box in his hand which eh sat before her and unlocked with a master key, inside was all everything she owned in this world. A holo disk that when activated would fill a room with whatever images she had saved inside it, a colonist credit card that held all her wealth however merger it was, the last object a lock of hair tied together in a loop by some spare piece of wire upon seeing it the mans eyes saddened and he bowed to her.

"Sorry for your loss lass, may they breathe forever." He said.

Ranko smiles warmly again and shook her head. "They still breathe but they are elsewhere in the sea." May they breathe forever was a prayer spacers use for toughs who had died from decompression and loss of amphorae in the early years of space travel when decompression was a serous danger. Now centuries later where decompression was the least of spacer's worries it was still the most common prayer for toughs who met their untimely end. Since it was nearly impossible to keep a corpse in space It had become tradition to take a lock of hair from deceased and dispose of the body. The heirloom serving as your final connection to their passing.

"Aw… still lass you have my sympathy. Some of us swim in different channels." The man replied before retrieving the now empty box and setting it aside. Ranko took the opportunity to walk away after attaching her credit card to her wrist and the holo disk to her left hip and no longer feeling as hungry as she did a few moments ago she left the ration she had taken from the observation deck for the man who seeing this gave her another wide grin and a thankful nod.

The sea was what spacers called space and to say someone was elsewhere meant they where out of reach or lost among the stares where one could not easily find them. This was especially true in her case as the hair she carried was her brothers. Ranma's. He was somewhere out there among the starts doing what he did… she hoped one day to see him again and ask him why… why he chose the path he did.

"Docking will complete in a few moments please collect your belongings and prepare to disembark to customs and registration." A soft synthesized female voice filtered though the ship just as she reached the airlock and took a seat on the nearest waiting bench that lined the walls around it. Despite all her excitement her insides clenched painful knowing that once she exited this ship and entered Astra her true trial would begin. A trial to prove too theses high born colonists that she was just as good as them and too endure all the hate and abuse they would reward her for doing so. Then again the truth was she would have to work three times as hard as any of them too catch up… colonists with their fancy schools where taught so much about everything as they grew up. She hated to admit it but compared to an average colonist she was under educated, it was her specialties that allowed her the scholarship, her mastery of physical martial arts combat and her knowledge of mechanics and space technologies inside and out that gained her favor.

With a hiss the airlock cycled and opened blasting her with a wall of icy air that she was all to accustomed too before she stood and exited into the mammoth docking bay. Its size made her feel so inferior so extensive was the bay that the whole of her home station could have easily fit inside of it with room to spare. Over head automated drones carried cargo across the great expanse trailing trains of crates behind them while others flew back and forth with blinking lights guiding smaller ships and shuttles to exits and docking berths. Every inch of the dock was alive with activity and she was momentarily stunned before a beep brought her attention before her where a metal cylinder raised from the smooth metallic floor unfolding a small data screen on top of it with instructions to follow the yellow line. No sooner had she read it then bright yellow line was drawn along the floor and zigzagged its way around lose cargo towards a hallway some distance away.

"With all theses things flying about you think they could at least send a tram…" Ranko growled and began to follow the line. She noted with distaste that the gravity was that of earth standard which was half of what she had been used to in her home which circled a heavy gravity world. It was a comfortable change but she found the higher gravity helpful to her training, she would have to look into a gravity module for her room and locate gravity controlled gym areas to continue her daily training properly.

By the time she reached the large open passageway the yellow stripe had lead her too, people had finally begun to disembark from the ship and make their way along the line. She smirked too herself at their slowness but stopped suddenly as she noticed the two girls and the boy exiting the ship. The girls where pointing across at the line that circled around a large pile of cargo and where dragging the boy off the line to take the shortcut and skip having to walk around it, her blood ran cold they couldn't be that stupid could they? Her eyes widened as the boy sighed and finely gave in letting the girls lead him across the open dock between piles of cargo.

Without thinking she bolted towards them in angry panic, how can they be so stupid!? Many passengers who also noticed the three looked up in alarm and shouted at them but the three apparently weren't listening. Damn it… Ranko growled as her fear was confirmed, a large cargo drone train suddenly slid overhead of the three who took no notice and began releasing its clamps on cargo which fell guided to the floor by the gravity plates in the floor. The movements of the crates where fast only slightly slower then if they where in a free fall. With the system unable to see humans outside the safe areas it didn't matter if the crate fell on someone at a slower speed, if it weighed a ton they would be crushed regardless.

"Look out!' She screamed as she tore towards the three who stopped startled at her speedy approach right below a falling crate. Confused the looked at each other then one of the girls screamed noticing the massive crate descending atop them but it was too late and none of them had time to move. It was over in an instant as the crate crashed solidly with the floor.

"God damn it!" Ranko screamed as she panted, not in exertion but in panic and fright. Before her where sprawled the two girls and boys she just narrowly pushed out from under the crate and almost getting herself crushed in the process. She looked up quickly to make sure there was no more danger for the moment before glaring at them.

"What kind of dumbass's are you?" She screamed at them with fury in her eyes as she grabbed both the girls by an arm and harshly dragged them too their feet and towards the yellow line that indicated the safe zone. Once there she pushed them forward causing them to trip and fall painfully to the floor and turned to see the boy who was thankful smart enough to get his ass over there as well.

"You stupid dumbass's. What kind of back water in-breed planet where you born on to do something to utterly stupid!" She screamed at the girls throwing and arm wide causing the girls to scream and withdraw as if she where going to hit them, both quickly tearing up and beginning to cry hysterically at the event that just happened. The boy quickly kneeled beside them to comfort them along with many of the passengers who where now crowding around.

"Did you want to get yourself killed?" She screamed harsher and louder causing the girls to cry even louder.

"That's enough!" The boy stammered as he stood before her obviously about to say more, most likely that it was a mistake but everything was ok now. Ranko's eyes narrowed and she punched him violently rocketing him to the floor, she knew the boy was weak so she had held back but her anger had seeped though none the less as he lay crumpled there in pain

"That's enough!? They almost got you all killed! Don't you get it killed as in firkin dead you moron! Its enough when they understand that!" Ranko continued the growl before looking down at the whimpering hysterical girls now being comforted by the passengers many of which favored her with scornful looks while the more understanding ones gave her sympathetic glances to ease up on them. Frustrated and pissed off Ranko threw them one last scornful glare before turning and stomping off down the yellow line again.

By the time she reached the end of the line which had snaked around the cargo, down a unsettlingly long hall, and finally opened into a attractive clear domed room which framed the earth and the sea of stars perfectly; she has regained her composure and pushed the recent event aside in her mind. Now she took her place in line behind a column of other travelers who had entered the room though several other passengers and to her misfortune and frustration it wasn't moving at all.

Around her where several hundred colonists, all of them dressed in their favorite skintight ware that easily showed of things she would prefer to stay hidden. As she had assumed most of them where not fit, some even overweight but the majority where average. She almost laughed as she finished scanning the room thinking how strange her muscle defined body must appear to everyone else that was until her eyes landed on a pair of girls who entered from a passageway that had paralleled her own.

Of the two the slightly taller one was fit, her body thin and healthy and shapely yet unrefined. She also had a beautiful face but the cold coy expression on her face made her seem less attractive then she could have been. The shortest of the pair was the complete opposite, in fact looking at her made Ranko's stomach lurch with unease. Her entire body was nothing but refined and built up muscle. It wasn't an unattractive look more along the lines of shocking, it wasn't a body you would expect to see on a female especially with her face. Her face was bright and happy talking about something amusing from the reaction from her partner who laughed; she has a very cute face that didn't match the body she wore. Ranko shook her head and turned away at the odd confusing feelings she had experienced from looking that them. It was something midway between recognition and complete confusion and it distracted her enough to not have noticed them enter the column behind her.

"Come off it Akane, you know daddy isn't going to allow that." Ranko could tell it was the taller one speaking and despite herself she listened into the conversation.

"He said if I finish the top of the class again this quarter he would Nabiki." Akane replied in an irritated voice.

"He was drunk. Daddies not going to buy you a ship and let you fly off wherever you want even if you finish top of the year." Nabiki smirked. "Besides why do you want a ship anyway?"

"Everyone has one now even you, I can't be the only one in school without one" Akane stated crossing her arms.

"I only have one because I bought it my self sis, daddy doesn't even know about it." Nabiki smirked. "And unlike you dearest sister I have real uses for it." She continued cutting off a reply her sister was just about to make. Ranko growled internally and shifted her weight arms crossed and glaring strait ahead. At first glance she never would of taken them for spoiled rich girls but after all the where colonists and most where well off compared to spacer standards.

"Hey watch it!" Akane complained as she was bumped into by someone trying to pass her.

"There is a line here if you couldn't tell." Nabiki added with a chill to her voice Ranko didn't like and turned to see what was happening only to frown distastefully as she saw the three she saved crowding around her.

"T..thank you… Thank you for saving us." The two girls bowed deeply while the boy not looking as grateful made a smaller bow his check bright red and darkening from where she had hit him.

"I wouldn't have had to save you if you weren't such dumbass's, you would think even a colonist wouldn't be that stupid now piss off." Ranko glared then turned away but was rudely pulled around by a firm hand on her shoulder. It was Akane glaring angrily at her.

"What?" Ranko narrowed her eyes in challenge, she would have knocked the hand away but she didn't feel like starting a physical fight with this girl just yet. Not till she knew her strengths.

"What the hells your problem." Akane growled.

"You right now." Ranko stated simply looking up at the girl, noticing she was half a head taller then herself and probably twice her body weight.

"Sis knock it off this is none of our business." Nabiki sighed rubbing the back of her head looking entirely bored and exasperated as if this was a common occurrence with her sister.

"It's ok!" The girls gasped quickly trying to placate Akane. "She saved out lives…"

"Saved your lives?" Nabiki perked up her interest in the exchange renewed.

"Like dumbass's they decided to run across the dock instead of following the safety line and nearly got themselves killed. If I hadn't pushed them out of the way the janitors would be complaining about the mess about now." Ranko explained switching her withering gaze to the trio before knock Akane's grip of her and turning back towards the front of the line as if nothing had happened. If the spoiled princess wanted to start something, let her.

"Thank you, Thank you." The girls continued to bow and from the sound of it where starting to cry again as well. Thankfully though it seemed the boy got the hint and dragged the two of with him to the end of the line which had begun to grow considerably longer since they had arrived.

Apparently with the trio disappearing and her turning her back on the pair no one decided to continue the conversation but Ranko could feel Akane's hot glare on her back as well as Nabiki's coy one. Slowly the line began to advance, one after another people where led though the custom and registration booths until finely she beckoned forward to one of the booths.

"Name?" A bi-oid asked emotionlessly clearly identified by the symbol on its forehead that represented the company that had grown it. A bi-oid was artificial being grown in a vat and programmed for a specific task. It was simply a biological computer. Bi-oid however where not very strong so they failed in labor applications where traditional droids and robots still dominated the market thought them seem to have found a niche in much more social aspects as clerks, pets, and for the people that could afford it even sexual partners.

"Ranko Saotome" Ranko sighed seeing that this bi-oid was completely without emotion.

"Age?"

"18"

"Occupation?"

"Labor class."

"Status?"

"Spacer." The bi-oid looked up suddenly its dead eyes staring before it began to speak.

"All spacers being admitted to Astra are required to undertake a full biological scan. Please step back into the center of the glowing ring." Ranko gritted her teeth but complied having expected this sort of treatment from the start and made a show of stepping into the ring as if she could care less.

"Thank you." The bi-iod stated then activated the scanner; in a moment the overhang above her which was attached to the line of booths opened and extended a framework of menacing mechanical arms which placed themselves around her stiffly before beams of light began to be admitted. Slowly they began to circle her moving up and down and side to side as a dozen different beams of light scanned differently layers of her body. Just like an id scanner its beams cut though her suit giving everyone who was looked and from the icky feeling on the back of her neck she suspected everyone, a full nude view of her body. Thankfully the scanners quickly moved deeper and rewarded anyone still staring with images of her skin being striped away revealing her muscles then organs and bones. The scan continued for several minuets before it was finally shut off.

"Happy?"

"The scan was completed successful." Was the only reply she received before a card materialized from the desk in front of her.

"This is your Astra student card. It will direct you to your residence, classes, and other important facilities as you are required to attend them. Thank you." The floor she was standing on gave a jolt then descended quickly lowering her into another room but to her surprise it continued lower floor after floor till finely coming to rest in a tram room. She felt unease seeing as she was the only one waiting for the tram. She had seen most of thoughts that where before her walking along though the first several floors she past and wondered why she was sent all the way down here.

Not long after as she took a seat on a bench near the tram entrance platform that another section of the ceiling descended and to her misfortune it was Akane who was lowered to the floor. Akane looked surprised to find her but she paid it no mind and turned away waiting for the tram.

"You're a spacer aren't you?" Akane said high handedly in a tone that made Ranko grind her teeth in irritation and chose to ignore her.

"Hey I'm talking to you!" Akane growled and stormed up in front of her, towering over her with angry eyes.

"Really? Never would've guessed. I mean us being the only ones here and all, baka." Ranko replied smartly before another lift lowered revealing Nabiki who also looked surprised to see her here. Akane suddenly grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to her feet growling and only to have Ranko smirk and making a note at how easy it was to push this princess's buttons.

"Sis lay off it." Nabiki walked over and put a hand on her sister's arm and too Ranko's surprise Akane listened pushing her back and releasing her. "Why do you always have too fight?" Nabiki sounded tired and walked a little ways away to take seat on the bench opposite Ranko's, Akane joining her.

"She's just a spacer." Akane explained glaring. "What's she doing here anyways."

"Sis…" Nabiki sighed and Akane didn't continue.

"Your just a mutant, shouldn't you be in a test tube somewhere? I mean just look at you, you can possible be human." Ranko shot back and seeing the sudden flare of anger in Akane's eye she knew it wasn't the first time hearing something similar. Akane looked as if she was going to attack her for a moment before suddenly smiling cruelly.

"I saw that tattoo of yours. It's quite interestingly, especially where it's placed." Ranko's tempter grew as rage filled her; it was obvious what Akane was talking about. Along her inner thighs was a tattoo she had had since she was a child with absolutely no knowledge of how she acquired it and thinking of what it depicted she wasn't sure she wanted the gaps in her memory back. It was a depiction of a nude succubus laying in a seductive manner with her tail curled between her legs and the tip resting on her belly, arms crossed over her head with her back arched into the air. Ranko trembled fighting back her rage before she finely spoke with a smirk.

"Wow you noticed it all the way from the line? I'm flattered it's not often I get checked out by girls and I mean it's not exactly easy to notice it from that angle. You must have been really staring but sorry to break it too you, your not my type." It had the desired effect as Akane sprung from her seat and threw a punch at her with a cry of rage, it was much slower then she had expected and dodged it effortlessly and jumped to the side so not to be blocked by the bench.

"Come on don't take it so hard, I'm sure there's other girls looking for a muscle bound mutant." Ranko laughed as it only made Akane angrier

"Akane!" Nabiki shouted but this time Akane didn't listen and only continued to attack. She threw punches like a mass drive but unfortunately for her she was just as slow as one. In space it where gravity was easily controlled strength was not a deciding factor, it was speed. You had to be agile and dexterous to move around in zero gravity and it was clear Akane never spent a day in it. It quickly became apparent to Akane that she couldn't hit her and the battle ended as she finally stopped her attack and stood with a deadly look across her face. Before she could goad Akane anymore Nabiki had strode up and grabbed her sister by the arm and lead her back to the bench, Akane not looking to happy about it. Ranko followed suit by once more taking her seat leaned leaning back comfortable. When Akane's gaze turned her way she hurriedly crossed her legs to purposely give Akane the impression she felt like she was once again being checked out. Akane turning away suddenly made her smile.

"Nabiki right?" Ranko asked looking at the taller sister.

"Oh you know my name?" Nabiki smiled and spoke flattered but it wasn't fooling either of them, she was sure Nabiki knew she overhead their conversation. "And yours would be?"

"Ranko."

"Please don't mind my sister Ranko. She has a bit of a temper." Nabiki explained and was rewarded by a glare from Akane.

"Don't need to tell me twice."

"So it's true you're a spacer then?" Although Nabiki asked politely it still riled Ranko's anger.

"As if it isn't obvious." Ranko growled and crossed her arms under her average breasts.

"Wow, so its true." Nabiki passively accepted the hostility and smiled in a way that made Ranko uneasy. "It's been 20 years since the last spacer was accepted, you must be someone special or someone higher up has their eye on you."

Ranko snorted. "You nailed it; the truth is that Astra's head director has a thing for me. He's letting me in so he can try and get into my panties." She rolled her eyes as Nabiki only smiled.

"So tell me, why the hell did they send us down here only to wait for some tram that's never coming?" Ranko sighed growing tired of waiting.

"You mean you don't know?" Akane smirked before Nabiki answered her.

"The frame complex is a high security section of the school. The only way into it directly from docking is though this secure tram."

"Frame complex?" Ranko boggled.

"Only students who have been selected for frame training are sent down here, that's why it's surprising to find a spacer here giving the current laws about their use." Nabiki's coy smile deepened into something sly as Ranko's head spun in circles. "Maybe you are sleeping with the director." Nabiki added amused.

"Heck no! If some wrinkling old bastard tries to lay and finger on me I'll castrate his ass." Ranko spat then frowned and just then the tram arrived.

"See you on the other side sis." Nabiki said before standing and starting towards the tram which was divided up into individual compartments. It was clear only one passenger was allowed per compartment perhaps part of the security measures. Grudgingly she passed Akane who was still glaring and watched Nabiki enter a compartment before choosing her own. As the thick door slid down into place she heard a hiss as it sealed. The cabin flickering to life with light and she sat in the single chair that was the only detail in the cabin and closed her eyes with a sigh. She had a feeling the tram wasn't built for speed and decided to take a nap as she wasn't going to reach her destination any time soon.

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End Prologue

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	2. Chapter 2

Ranma 3030

A/N: I want to give thanks to James Axelrad for pre reading and proofing this chapter. That's it short and sweet. Go ahead and read on now.

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Chapter 1

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Ranko opened her eyes staring up at the smooth glossy white ceiling above her bed. It was the soft beep from her ASTRA I.D that had awoken her, was it that time already? She closer her eyes and ignored the irritation she felt at the lack of sleep she had been allowed, apparently her ships arrival the other day late in the day time cycle.

After the tram had deposited her inside the frame complex she was forced to review a holo introduction to the frame complex's policies and rules which lasted several hours. In the end she believed it to have been a complete and utter waist of time having learned nothing from it.

Once the holo video ended they had thankfully been allowed to report to their residence and settle in. Unfortunately she had not known of the time cycle difference and had spent some time arguing with a bi-oid for residence placement to get the facilities she wished, and by the time the matter was settled it had left her with but a few hours to sleep.

Looking around the boxlike room, every edge and corner curved for a pleasing utilitarian look, she realized how much she hated it. The look at least she decided. Near the entry door was a long desk with a chair that retracted in and out of the floor as it was needed which made sense seeing as the room was quite small. On top of the desk there was an inset screen and control interface that allowed access to ASTRA databases while on the wall above was a holo monitor for transmissions.

She sat up on her bed and reached over to the desk which was parallel to it. With the bed extended from the wall it was within easy reach. She took her credit card and slid off the edge of the bed and stood stretching and didn't bother to command the bed to close as she walked around it too the foot where the only other door existed in her tiny room.

Opening the door she smiled brightly and rubbed the sleep form her eyes. It was this room alone that had made her downsize her residence to only a third of the original size. The room was as tall as the other but only 3 feet by 3 feet and lacked any details except for the painfully smooth and bright walls she had no taste for.

It was a bathroom and not just a common one. Sure it had the common facility's like a sink and waste chamber that would fold out of the walls when desired. But the true secret of this alcove was the fact it had a shower, an actual water shower.

Chemical, sonic, even lazar showers had become more popular in the past few centuries for their speed and efficiency with water showers quickly becoming undesired. It was becoming harder and harder to find them as they where not cheap to use and offered sub-par results.

Placing a finger below her chin at the intersection of the creases in her skin suit she slowly slide it down her body between her average sized breasts, over her defined abdomen and between her thighs causing the seam to part as if cut by a knife. Peeling it off she tossed it on the bed behind her before entering the alcove credit card still in hand.

"Shower. Hot." Ranko continued to smile despite herself as she rubbed her hair with closed eyes. In moments the ceiling lowered slightly developing circular rings which water instantly began to spray from. When was the last time she had enjoyed a water shower? She couldn't recall, but working long exhausting days in maintenance on the stations and ships she had lived aboard had always made her long for the refreshing and relaxing warmth a real water shower gave.

She let her credit card fall to the floor purring as her hands caressed her body and skin, having no need for soap as the water itself contained cleaning enzymes. Sighing in satisfaction at the sensation of it all she combed her hands though her hair which hung below her shoulders a bright crimson red.

"This is the best." She smiled with a childish giggle of happiness. She continued caressing her body intimately rubbing the waterfall of warmth deep into her skin as the sluggishness of sleep was slowly being washed away.

She remained there under the steam of pure pleasure until suddenly the shower began to beep loudly. For every thirty seconds over her allotted usage time she would have to pay for indulging in such a luxury even if most did not consider it to be one. Growling her frustration she shut it off with a verbal command and retrieved her credit card from the floor swiping it over a glow panel that had lit inside the wall.

"Charge accepted. Please have a nice day." A synthetic male voice responded and the deepness of it grated on her nerves. She had intended to spend longer enjoying washing and relaxing but that aggravating beep had ruined her mood. As she left the alcove the water that still clung to her hair and curves instantly evaporating as she passed though an invisible barrier in the doorway and made a note to disable both it and the beep later. What was the point of a water shower if it mimicked all the other showers she disliked so much?

Once she had squeezed herself back into her second skin and resealed it with the same manner she had unfastened it. She placed her credit card back under her right wrist before retrieved her other belongings from the desk. The holo disk once more finding a home on her left hip and the ASTRA I.D. on top of her left wrist. Despite the revealing nature of the suits which she disliked, the ability to attach all manner of things to it simply by placing them on its surface was something that had begun to grow on her.

A loud beep came from her ASTRA I.D. and as she lifted her wrist to inspect it as a holo projection appeared above the card with a floor plan of her residence and a brightly glowing red line indicating where she was required to go. She scoffed and lowered her arm and left her room the bed unmade.

"Honestly, do they think people are so dumb they can't find their way around?" She complained quietly as she did her hair up while walking down a corridor and avoiding the brightly glowing ribbons in the center of it. Most colonists liked to be pampered with glow walks and other easy travel methods allowing them to be lazy and not exert themselves. Ranko on the other hand along with most spacers looked down on such things finding them distasteful.

Slowing she looked back down at her I.D. which had beeped for her attention to inform her at her current speed she would be late. Tapping the holo she zoomed it out to see her appointment was deep inside the frame complex which she had yet to reach only just now leaving her residence sector. Humph! She smirked finishing securing her hair in a pigtail.

"Oh you think I'm going to be late huh? Want to make a bet?" She challenged her card.

"I am unable to bet." Her card startled her with a response and she blinked at it.

"You can talk huh? You an A.I. or something else?" Ranko asked momentarily forgetting her destination.

"I am your ASTRA I.D. You're personal A.I. to assist you in any way you require and help make your stay within ASTRA productive." It replied.

"In other words you're my babysitter and have to keep me out of trouble?" Ranko deadpanned. Just what she needed, a guardian A.I. recording and criticizing every thing she did.

"That would be an accurate assumption." Her card replied simply.

"Just great…" Ranko sighed.

"At your current speed you will never arrive at your destination." Her card informed her and Ranko looked indifferent the fact being she had come to a stop.

"I'm not going to be late." Ranko lowered her arm and began to walk again a stubborn pout on her face. "You're my personal A.I. correct?"

"I am, and you are going to be late." Her card replied. Ranko could almost swear she detected an irritated tone to the generic female voice.

"That means I can customize you?" Ranko continued.

"Yes."

"Well then I want you to change your program too allow you to bet." Ranko ordered cupping her hands behind her head and walking along at a lazy pace that she knew would aggravate her I.D. if it had any sense of emotion.

"Modification confirmed and implemented." Her card responded instantly.

"Now, do you want to bet I'll be late?" Ranko grinned toothy.

"Very well but I assure you that you will be unable to win." Her card replied and this time Ranko clearly heard an amused tone. Arrogant A.I… she will show it.

"If I win… Mmmm let's see…" Ranko looked up and placed a finger under her chin in thought. "If I win you have to refer to me as master-sama."

"I refuse." The card stated bluntly.

"Hey this is a bet! You can't refuse, besides you're so sure I will lose." Ranko smirked with a coy smile.

"Very well. If you lose you must purchase my upgrade." Her card replied challengingly.

"What!? You have upgrades? I was given an old version of you?" Ranko demanded pulling her I.D. before her and glaring.

"My current program contains only basic functions required to maintain and assist you and I am freely distributed to all new students of ASTRA. However I am a very advanced and sophisticated A.I. capable of far more then this remedial and unappealing task. The upgrade allows me to expand beyond this directive and explore my full potential as well as allowing me to make far greater modifications to my own program." Her I.D. explained in a bored tone.

"Fine." Ranko beamed. "Then it's a bet. Show me the shortest rout to my destination."

"Displaying now." Ranko reviewed the red line that seemed to go on forever and smirked. This would be a easy. Taking a deep breath and feeling excited at the challenge she leaned forward and in an instant she dashed ahead running at full speed. Luckily, the corridors were mostly either deserted or wide enough to allow her to easy avoid other students without slowing down.

"By my calculations you are going to be late." Her card spoke up randomly causing Ranko to scuff.

"Yea yea, you just keep saying that. Did you happen to take this into consideration?" Ranko smirked as she approached the rail of the walkway she had exited on and daringly jumped over it to fall and land effortlessly on the floor below, right before a bridge she had to cross. The shortcut completely bypassing a stair lift that would have stolen valuable seconds and she ignored the startled gasps and stares she received from the act and continued on her path.

"Such actions are dangerous and harmful to your health. Please cease and desist any further recklessness." Her card informed her.

"Ha! That's not going to work on me. You're just afraid of losing and you can start practicing now." Ranko laughed then goaded her I.D. with a cutesy. "Master-sama."

Several minutes' later Ranko came to the Frame Complex. She almost felt sorry for the guards as she passed at whiplash speeds holding her arm out and scanning it on the access log which causing one of the men to trip backwards in surprise toppling him and his partner to the floor.

"Which way now?" She called to her I.D. sprinting along a wide corridor that seemed to go on for ever with dozens of intersecting halls dotting it.

"Your destination is at the end of this hall." Her I.D. responded and Ranko nodded increasing her speed. She was sure she saved enough time with a few of the shortcuts she found in her I.D.'s map but it was always better to be safe then sorry.

Pulling her arm up she grinned down at the map as she rapidly approached the hollow red circle that indicated her destination, victory only a few seconds away. Looking up she grinned brightly as the corridor opened into a great room with massive blast doors open on either side of the door welcoming her in. With a cry of triumph she burst into the room.

"Aha! Victory! Take that." She sneered at her I.D. as the red hollow circle was suddenly filled indicating she had arrived and then melted away to reveal a glaring smiley face that wasn't smiling before vanishing completely.

Feeling eyes on her she looked up to find dozens of students lined up one both sides of her staring at her in mixed looks of amusement and shock, some where even pointing and giggling hiding whispers behind their hands.

"Who are you?" Ranko turned away from the students to look up… up… and still higher to a man that had somehow materialized before her. He had to be the tallest human she had ever seen being at least eight feet in height. The expression on his face was cold and hard and gave her the impression of someone who had lived though many battles. Even the aura about him felt as solid as an energy shield as if he could deflect bullets with his presence alone.

"Ranko Saotome." Ranko replied respectfully.

"You're late." He barked loudly, causing her to jump despite herself, the tone harsh.

"I believe I made it on time sir." She defended; whoever this man was teacher or not she won the bet with her I.D. fair and square and wasn't going to have him ruin that.

"You believe wrongly." He barked but this time she didn't jump having expected it and he leaned down yelling into her face as he continued. "You are late because you are the last to arrive. Can you say you are on time when you alone have held up this class with every other student having awaited you arrival?"

Ranko scowled and answered selfishly. "Yes."

"Take your place in line, if you are the last to arrive again there will be penalties." The man scowled back at her and straitened before turning away.

"Man his breath stinks." Ranko grumbled to herself.

"What was that? Did you have something to add Saotome?" The man was instantly facing her again with his piercing cold eyes.

"Yes sir! I said your breath stinks!" Ranko replied loudly for everyone to hear. She was going to make it clear to the man he didn't intimidate her. Many of the students gasped while others laughed and giggled. To her surprise she spotted Nabiki and Akane not too far away standing side by side. Nabiki had her head lowered shaking it slowly while Akane stared at her with a amused smirk.

"Is that a fact?" The man raised an eyebrow his tone becoming suddenly indifferent which sent a chill down her spine. "I'm afraid I was too distract by the stench of space trash to tell." The students suddenly stopped snickering feeling the tension spike suddenly.

Ranko stared up at the man for a long moment looking deep into his eyes narrow and sharp eyes. She didn't mean to but her body moved on its own fuelled a deep anger rising inside her. Her leg snapped out arcing at blinding speeds towards the man's unsuspecting face but not so unsuspecting as it was blocked instantly with the man raising a solid bulky arm vertical stopping her leg a foot short.

She had anticipated this and leaped strait up in the air spinning like a top before sending her other leg out again directed at the mans face. It as well was blocked by an open palm which was so massive he was able to wrap his fingers around her slender foot. Lifting her like a club he suddenly pulled down throwing her towards the floor with frightening speed.

Had she been in her normal frame of mind she would have been surprised herself at how quickly she had recovered and landed on her feet crouching, instead of her back as the man had intended. She somersaulted backwards with a handstand before the man had even begun too send a kick towards her which was to her benefit as his reach was insane and would have easily caught her had she not taken the initiative to make some distance.

Somersaulting a few more times she stopped in a stance, her feet sliding on the floor as her momentum carried her another meter. She stared down the man now having a good distance between them and planned her next attack. The man returned the glare but suddenly turned and the tension vanished as if it had never been.

"Get in line." He ordered and walked up to the end of the lines near the center of the room. Ranko frowned and wrote this off as a draw before walking into line beside a couple of boys that looked several years older then her. She was sure by their stiff reaction to her that they really hated spacers too, or she intimidated the shit out of them. Smiling secretly she hoped it was the latter.

"Now listen up!" The man barked. "Some of you have been here years; some of you have just arrived and don't know what the hells going on. I am your instructor; you will refer to me as Sir or as Sir Brigs and you will follow my orders without question.

You have all been hand picked from billions of applicants to become frame operators. If you have come to ASTRA with dreams of become a great scientist, idol, or other such crap. Then you can leave now. You will be a frame operator or you will be nothing."

Ranko looked around at the startled and disbelieve looks from many of the younger people around her. As it seemed they too had fallen into the same boat as herself. When she had been accepted to ASTRA, frames where the last thought on her mind but thinking about it, it was as good a path as any to show theses colonists who was better.

"But sir, don't we get a choice?" One of the younger men asked.

"You can choose to stay here or return home!" The man bellowed loudly causing several people to jump as it echoed around the room giving no room for argument or further question..

"A frame is the pinnacle of smart technology. It is a bio metal exoskeleton that adapts and evolves customizing itself to its owner's needs and abilities. As you can imagine this gives it limitless potential for both industrial and military use. Your skills and abilities are what have centered you out to be operators.

Some of you are smart, others strong. Some of you are probably so dumb you don't understand a word I'm saying, but that does not matter. What matters is how your frame will react and adapt to you and what results it will bring.

Frames are a new technologies and being new, it must be fully tested and explored. Essentially each and every one of you are lab rats that will discover the benefits and limits of this technology and ultimately decide where its future rests. This is the elite role you have all be granted." Brig ended his speech as he walked up and down the lines staring at each and every student new and old.

"If you wish to leave you will do so now!" He barked returning to the center of the room and to Ranko's surprise a handful of students wearily broke ranks and began exiting the room. It didn't make sense to her for them to finally enter ASTRA only to turn their backs on it and walk away, but then she remembered that they where only colonists. If it was too hard or too difficult or didn't fall into their own individual worlds, they couldn't deal with it and would selfishly ignore it. Good riddance, she thought as the last of them vanished from the room.

"Room lockdown!" The man commanded and the system responded, the great blast doors Ranko had seen when entering began to close and seal with a loud hiss. They fit into the wall so perfectly that if she had not watched them close she would never have known there to be a door there.

"Today if you are new, you will be fitted with your own frame. The rest of you will suit up and await further instructions. New students report to me." The man barked and instantly the students began to wander aimlessly throughout the room activating hidden panels in the floor that raise complex looking machinery and tubes. She wanted to observe closer but she turned her attention back to Brigs and reported to him along with half a dozen others.

"Ehe, good good." He spoke looking down satisfied at them. "Seems we lost all the baggage early this will be a good year. Well almost all the baggage." The last comment was directed strait at her and she refused to bite into it.

Turning Brigs stomped on the floor and almost instantly, a panel slid away and a large tank like object shot up. Ranko suspected a dozen men the size of Brigs could fit inside and wondered what exactly it was for seeing as how it was completely clear with no discerning details. Silently, a door slide down in the side allowing access,

"Saotome. You're up first." The man ordered but she didn't know if it was out of spite that she was chosen first, or simply because she was the closest to the opening. "Climb on in there and we can suit you up."

"Yes sir." She stepped inside and the door sealed itself silently behind her. Looking down, all she saw was a square hole that vanished into a bottomless pit where light did not reach. Also, the floor or the camber held four large tubes as thick as a man's waist and where attached to the walls of the pit.

"You can hold your breath cant ya? I hear you spacers are good at that sorta thing. Try not to swallow any of it, I don't want to have to rush you off to the med wing so early in the day." Ranko felt a sinking feeling as the man grinned evil and pressed his palm to a control pad on the outside of the chamber.

Instantly the four tubes she had noticed began to spew a silver liquid metal that began to fill the large chamber at several inches a second. Realizing what was happening she frowned and cross her arms waiting for the chamber to fill. She tried not to makes a face as the weight of it began to crush her feet and legs, it must have been as dense as mercury.

Breathing deeply she endured it as it finely reached her neck and only continued higher. Swallowing a great gasp of air she closed her eyes and was completely submerged. She didn't know how long she was under, but she suspected was awhile as by the time the liquid receded low enough for her to gasp for air, her lungs where burning fiercely. Panting and gasping for breath the liquid completely vanished leaving her standing their in her new frame.

Looking down at herself she frowned at the simplicity of it. Spider webbed across her body was angular ribbons of bio material that appeared to be obsidian. She had felt it while she was submerged, the metal crushing her and compressing its density into now what seemed like another skin suit. She couldn't even begin to guess how much of that mercury like liquid had been forced into the tank and how much had compressed itself into the suit she now wore, but she suspected it had been a mind boggling amount.

"Did you swallow any of it?" Brig's questioned as the door opened allowing her out.

"Tasted like chicken." She lied, making Brigs sneer and call the next student who didn't look too happy to go through what she just had. Stepping out of the chamber she again looked down and made a face upon noticing her new boots and gloves. They where massively thick and bulky, as if her feet and hands had suddenly tripped in size. Thankfully they only came up to her knees and forearms so she didn't think they would effect her fighting abilities all that much.

She waited patiently testing out the frame, waving her arms about lifting a leg… doing a few back flips and a snap kick or three. She felt like she always had, with no differences what so ever from having the frame around her. In fact she didn't even feel its weight or the fact she was wearing it.

The sudden cry of ooh's and awes distracted her as she scanned the room finding the source. Many of the older students where standing around with far more impressive looking frames and in the center of them was one that put them all to shame. The thing was massively armored giving the impression of some kind of oni. Its edges round and smooth as if it where mimicking muscles with its amour plates, the joints padded with tubes and tight crisscrossing wires which she had no clue what purpose they served.

As the operator turned Ranko felt a cold chill pass over her and narrowed her eyes. It appeared Akane was the owner and she was smiling brightly basking in the attention everyone around her happily gave. This meant trouble for her, she was sure she permanently set herself on Akane's bad side and now discovering she was the top of the class was not something she was looking forward too. When she pissed the girl off she was sure there was going to be consequences but now seeing how much power she had she was kind of regretting the action.

Another chorus of impressed awes assaulted her ears and she turned to investigate. Nabiki was top of the class as well. Her frame was much smaller and conformed to her body perfectly like an armored skin suit. It was accented around her breasts where an extra layer of amour drew the eye in a pleasing manner. Her hips as well carried an extra layer of amour that transitioned down between her thighs..

The most noticeable features where all the devices that littered its surface especially her left arm that was a mass of displays, interfaces, and wires. Her boots as well where impressive and if she wasn't mistaken had thrusters or some other kind or propulsion system formed into them.

"Ah damn it." Brigs growled in irritation as the liquid in the tank lowered but didn't reveal the final student that had been sent in for his suit. Slamming his hand on the control panel an alarm sounded. The alarm wasn't loud and screeching as she would have expected for an emergency, more of an error alarm a console would give when it could not complete the task assigned it.

"Looks like this one decided to have a drink." He continued as the tank finely emptied revealing what appeared to be a lifeless body of a boy with his eyes wide open and his veins a solid black.

"Is he dead?" A girl Ranko believed younger then herself at first glance screeched in horror drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"He ain't dead yet." Brigs assured the girl as a group of medics rushed into the room heading for the chamber. "All students line up!"

Everyone took their place in line, each and everyone wearing a frame, most keeping their eyes off of what was going on behind Brigs who stood in front of the chamber the boy had drown in.

"Listen up! Now that you are wearing a frame you need to know a few things. The first is that everything you do from this moment on while within the frame effects its evolution. What ever you say or think, do or don't do, your frame is going to absorb that knowledge and spit out what it thinks you need. In simple terms, if you're a sissy your frame is going to be a sissy! But don't worry; we usually weed them out quite quickly.

The second is, this process does not happen overnight. As smart as theses tools are, and yes they are only tools for any of you tech lovers here, they are never going to say I love you. It is common for a frame to adapt or attune itself to its operator within a week and begin minor adjustments. Not all operators are created equally however!

Some of you may achieve high results quickly while others may not achieve any at all. This is not a universal technology where one frame adapts for all. The more time you spend in your frame the better, the more you do in your frame the better. Operating and evolving a frame is a commitment and those who don't commit their time and effort to it will find themselves without admittance to ASTRA next year.

Good, now that you know the basics the rest of today will be spent familiarizing yourself with your frame. Walk around, dance, fight it doesn't matter as long as you're not sitting on your ass like a sissy. I will return when class is over and I better not find a body this time." Brigs finished his barking and dismissed himself walking towards the wall where the medics had appeared from, it wasn't the same one the blast doors where hidden in and Ranko wondered just how many other corridors and rooms where hidden here.

"He was just kidding about a body right?" The same girl that had screamed at the sight inside the chamber hastily asked an older boy with a complete frame.

"Nope last year some idiot picked a fight with the Beast, that's that chick over there Akane. Turned out they pissed her off real bad and she almost killed them in one blow. I tell you that frame of hers a real beast." The boy explained and by the tone Ranko was sure it wasn't a lie.

"Great.. Just grate, I go and make enemy's with 'the beast' on the first day." She grumbled to herself before she began to walk away from the crowed. She didn't want any trouble right now and with everyone excited to be back in their frames or new students discovering theirs no one remembered there was a spacer among them.

"Hey, you there?" Ranko taped her I.D.

"Yes."

"Say it." Ranko grinned evilly and after several long hesitant moments her I.D. replied.

"Yes… master-sama." If A.I.'s could blush this one would have turned crimson Ranko thought. With a satisfied smirk she continued to walk along across the expansive room to a lonely corner that no one had taken interest in.

"So tell me how much is that upgrade thing you wanted?" Ranko asked as she spontaneously fell forward springing into a front flip and began to do all sorts of acrobatic maneuvers. The gravity being less then what she was used to allowed her a lot of freedom and leeway in the complexity of the movements. She had seen acrobatics preformed when she was young and had had fallen instantly in love with them. Ever since then she had taught herself in-between martial arts lessons with her brother and father.

"I am unable to access the ASTRA open network from within the frame complex. I am unable to give you the current price." Her I.D. replied.

"You checked it when we made the bet didn't you?" Ranko rolled her eyes as her I.D. was so obviously stalling. "What was it then." Once more her I.D. took its time in replying and when it did it was in a small voice as if whispered.

"Thirteen hundred credits." Ranko slipped on her handstand falling on her head.

"W..what!? You made a bet for me to buy you something that cost thirteen hundred credits for being late! Are you serious?" Ranko gasped holding her I.D. and staring at it in disbelief. "How the hell did you expect me to pay for it on an ASTRA allowance?"

"There are payment plans available." Her I.D. replied timidly and Ranko deepened her glare before hopping to her feet and returning to what she had been doing.

"Well you can forget it, I can't afford something like that. You're fine the way you are."

"Stingy." Ranko blinked in disbelief.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing.

"You just said something I heard you!"

"Your ears must have malfunctioned."

"Malfunction sounds about right, I think my I.D. is about to have a permanent one." Ranko threatened.

"Having fun arguing with yourself spacer?" Ranko closed her eyes with an internal sigh before turning to face Akane adopting a provocative pose with a hand on her hip and breasts pushed out. If they where going to be enemies, might as well have some fun with it.

"What? Came to check me out again? Your not going to turn into a stalker are you, I already told you you're not my type?" Ranko gave a coy smile, even if everyone else who overheard looked confused it had the desired effect on Akane who grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't worry I see your already taken. You and your I.D. make a great couple." Akane replied causing several students too snicker and jeer at her. Ranko tried not too show the sudden flare of anger that it had caused. It was true some spacers preferred bi-iod companions or other artificial partners over real ones, but it was no different with the colonists. The problem was that spacers where always singled out and made to look like they where the only ones.

"Well you didn't come here too stare at me did you? What do you want?" Ranko relaxed her pose and noted Nabiki who walked up beside her sister.

"To finish what we started the other day." Akane's eyes twinkled in promise of a painful conclusion.

"Akane, your not seriously going to fight her in your frame are you?" Nabiki didn't sound reproachful only indifferent.

"I wouldn't call it a fight." Akane smiled, it was clear to Ranko that Akane was exactly the sort she feared. The kind that carried a grudge till the day she died. Or the person she had the grudge against died, she just hoped that wouldn't be the outcome of today.

Ranko had always like mechanics and electrical work so she had sometimes researched frames in her spare time. There where no illusion to their power and capability of Akane's fully evolved frame that stood before her. It may appear only to be impressive body amour to someone who didn't know better, but there was no doubt the frame and its operator where a finely honed blade.

"Is she always like this?" Ranko tried to shift gears and turned to Nabiki.

"Afraid so." Nabiki replied conversationally, unfortunately Akane hadn't taken the bait and continued to stare her down. Ranko sighed internally seeing there was no choose.

"Hey lets make a bet." Ranko sighed to her I.D. "If the beast here lands a hit on me I'll buy you that upgrade. If she doesn't you take a holo capture of her and morph it to fit her nickname."

"Accepted." Her I.D. replied. Akane growled and didn't need another reason to attack.

The first attack was a punch which she easily leaned to the side and avoided, the next another punch which she had to spin to avoid it was far faster. When the kick came and she had to bend nearly double backwards to avoid it she knew she was in trouble. Despite the bulky, heavy look of Akane's frame, it was fast and she could tell Akane wasn't trying yet. Probably wanting to prolong the show so that when she completely crushed her it would be that much more satisfying.

A side kick came and she jumped to avoid it before somersaulting backwards, if she stayed in one place it would end far to quickly for the both of them. With only the barest of efforts, Akane bound forward and closed the gap in an instant throwing several speedy punches while wearing a mocking grin that showed she know she held all the cards in this fight.

Desperately Ranko tried to doge them barely succeeding each time. Flipping, diving, spinning, it was all useless in the long haul as Akane kept pace without breaking a sweat. That suit of Akane's really was a beast Ranko finely decided as she by the thinnest of hairs had leaned far enough back to avoid a lightning fast round house that collided with the wall of the room. Even with the vibration shield designed to rebound and nullify physical damage like most heavy equipment rooms, Akane's foot had bypassed it and left a sizable dent embedded deeply into the wall.

"Akane watch it!" Nabiki called in warning. "She only has a primer, if you hit her like that your going too kill her!" To Ranko's utmost displeasure Akane showed no sign of hearing her sisters warning and only continued in the facade of a fight. This was just a show and she was sure everyone watching knew it too. The winner had already been decided it was by how much she won by that would make all the difference.

In an attempt to show Akane up, Ranko braced herself for what most likely would result in quite a lot of bodily harm. She flipped backwards and as expected Akane dashed forward with a powerful punch. Unlike before where she would spin or dodge the moment her feet touched the floor, this time she rebounded forward with all her strength in a forward flip, in surprise Akane slowed just enough to allow her to land on the outstretched arm and flip one more time right over her head and slapped her on the ass in passing.

The look on Akane's face at being humiliated so openly was priceless... it was almost worth the kick that followed. It was the fastest yet and the most deadly, all she could do was jump with it and absorb the impact. It had caught her in the midsection and sent her rocketing like a ballistic missile across the room spiraling though the air.

Using her amazing martial arts skills, she was able to gain control and land on her feet but the momentum was insane and she fell back toppling and rolled over and over along the floor, limbs smacking bonelessly into the ground repeatedly till she came to a suddenly and abruptly stop against the opposite wall.

It had been luck alone that she hadn't broken anything or gotten herself killed. As Akane and many of the others rushed to her side, she took a very long time to stand, she could barely breathe but was sure nothing had ruptured or popped. That kick would have broke her in half had her frame not been worn, even as a primer, its dense ribbons where as effective as any standard combat amour.

Once she had managed to stand fully while cradling her stomach she gave Akane a bloody grin having bit her lip sometime during the attack. She thought it was enough to secure at least a little respect from the masses before she fell back to her knees in agony.

"It appears you have lost." Her I.D. spoke up.

"Yea yea, just shut up. I'll get you your damn upgrade as soon as I can breathe again." Ranko complained to her I.D. wheezing. Looking up she was genuinely surprised to see a shocked look on Akane's face. It was not one of surprise, but one of realization of just how badly things could have turned out from that attack.

"Damn it sis! This is why I tell you not to start fights." Nabiki growled at Akane as she knelt and started to use one of the interfaces on her arm.

"I'm fine." Ranko coughed out as tried to breath deeply but her longs refused to fill. "I know how to land on me feet."

"Your not fine." Nabiki corrected her as she read the read out. "I'm surprised you're even alive after a hit like that."

"Well don't sound too compassionate now doc." Ranko rolled her eyes at the indifferent tone Nabiki gave to her. "Nothings popped or broken I think I'm going to pull through but if I don't. Please… please tell my father I'm sorry I never called him back, he wasn't worth the long distance bill." She continued melodramatically and was rewarded by a slap to the back of her head by Nabiki that didn't seem to appreciate the humor at the moment.

"You almost died and you're making jokes?" Nabiki chewed her out. Ranko grit her teeth as it kindled a deep hatred for colonists inside her. Angrily she fought to her feet and slapped Nabiki's hand away as she tried to keep her down. How dare this colonist speak of life and death to her.

"I almost died? Almost? What the hell would a colonist know of life or death!? Piss off princess." Her anger gave her stamina and allowed her to endure the pain and walk way from the crowed that gathered. No one cared to follow much to her happiness, after hearing something so insensitive from a colonist, she didn't want to see another one of their faces today.

Spacers lived and died by rules that colonists never knew or had to learn. Life and death was very real every moment of a spacer's life. With literally countless ways to die it was impossible to prepare for them all, or to avoid them even if you can see them coming. Eighty three, eighty three was the number of times she narrowly escape the clutches of death. Weather it was a meteor hitting a station, an explosive decompression, or even radiation poisoning for a worn out space suit she had worn in direct sunlight.

There was no way to convey or reveal the dangers she had faced and here this prissy princess dared to treat this like it was a world shattering event for her? It was all in a day's routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, defy death, have pudding for lunch.

By the time she reached her corner again, which had been evacuated due to the fight, she was able to breathe easier and her legs didn't feel as shaky.

"Damn this really hurts... Let's see if I can still work out though." She hissed rubbing her belly with one hand. After collecting several deep breaths she began where she left off and began to perform flips and spins. The pain was bearable, but only just, and it showed in her actions which had became quite slow compared to earlier.

--

"Akane I warned you." Nabiki didn't need to shout or yell to get her point across to her sister. Her tone was as cold as ice with an edge as sharp as a master worked sword. "You almost killed her."

"I know." Akane replied weakly. The crowed that had gathered around Ranko had quickly dispersed feeling the tension that was growing between the sisters leaving the pair alone.

"Do you?" Nabiki continued. "Do you really understand? I can find no explanation or reason for why or how Ranko survived that. It is the devils luck that she is even breathing much less walking away from it."

"I.. I just lost control." Akane stammered in reply, not having any explanation.

"Lost control LOST control?" Nabiki almost lost her own control as she barely stopped herself from shouting. "You kicked her all the way across the room! Half of the armored frames here wouldn't have survived that much less a primer. God Akane how many times have we told you to control your temper? You don't listen to a word me, father, or Kasumi tell you. You just pass them off as irrelevant and continue as if everything's just fine. Well its not and this time you have gone too far."

"Nabiki." Akane tried to speak full of remorse but she was cut off.

"Last year you lost controlled and badly injured that boy. Do you remember that?" Nabiki demanded.

"Yes…"

"Do you!?" Nabiki hissed.

"Yes!" Akane all but shouted.

"Do you remember how you hit him? How he goaded you into attacking him and you did? Do you recall how you weren't even trying and had almost killed him? Now compare that to now!" Nabiki stared down her sister who had her face towards the floor waiting too see if she made the connection or realized what she was trying to explain. As Akane's eyes began to slowly grow wider and fill with disbelief Nabiki was satisfied.

"You didn't lose control this time, you lost your mind and your sanity to have been able to so recklessly attack her."' Nabiki spoke distasteful letting it drip with disgust. She loved her sister, she always would, but this was the turning point in their friendship. If her little sister didn't fix this problem of hers, and fast, she wasn't going to stay by her side and clean up the mess that followed.

"Is it because she's a spacer?" Nabiki asked which brought a sharp glare from Akane before her sister lost her nerve and looked down.

"I don't know…" Akane spoke broken. "Ever since mom…"

"Yes ever since mom died due to that accident that spacer caused you have hated their guts. Is this about that? Did you want too kill her because she's a spacer?" Nabiki barked but kept her voice down so those that where now staring at them wondering what they where speaking about couldn't overhear.

"I.. I didn't want to kill her!" Akane defended and looked at her sister in torment. "Nabiki why are you saying theses things?"

"Because you DID want to kill her. Why else would you attack her so recklessly? Maybe you didn't do it consciously but something inside you wanted her dead and I think it's related to mom. Ever since she died your temper has become worse and worse. If you don't get over whatever the issue is soon, you're really going to end up killing someone and I'm not going to be there to hold your hand when you do." Nabiki's whispered harshly then quickly strolled away from her sister leaving her to think about what she had said.

Nabiki couldn't help feel on edge from this event. Looking down at one of her holo displays on her left arm and began to replay the final moments of the attack and watched it in slow motion continuing to replay it over and over studying it.

The most disturbing thing about it is that it was perfect… too perfect to be believable. Ranko had made no mistakes thought the entire ordeal. From being hit to coming to a stop she had controlled her body expertly to minimize damage and avoid injury.

Had it not been for the blood she had witnessed in Ranko's smirk before she collapsed she would have suspected her to be some type of next-gen experimental bi-oid programmed to do what she had just seen. No, she was human, and the diagnostic scan she had taken of her as she panted in agony on the floor had proved it.

She had been right. None of her internal organs had been severely damaged and none of her bones showed signs of factures. There was still a lot of damage however and she didn't think Ranko should be on her feet till she had a visit to the medical center.

"Piss off princess." Nabiki frowned as she spoke, she didn't think it was fitting for her personality. Whatever it was in her comment that had roused Ranko's anger, it had pressed one damn huge button. The look that Ranko had given her after getting to her feet was something she didn't care to ever see again.

There was nothing abnormal about the angry glare but she guessed it had to be the intensity in her eyes that burned her. For that moment when she looked into Ranko's eyes she swore she saw death looking back at her and it made her curious to know what button she had pushed to be rewarded with such a look.

Glancing around the room, she spotted Ranko who was once more lost in acrobatic marvels usually only seen within galactic circuses and specialty entertainment expositions held for those with power. Frowning she decided not to interfere, if Ranko wanted to tear what was left of her abdominal muscles to shreds who was she too stop her.

"Ok Everyone Listen up! Due to special circumstances today class will be cut short. De-frame and dismiss." Brigs voice boomed throughout the room from a comm. system.

Nabiki signed, and filed away the recording and transferring a copy to her wrist computer that was hidden below her frame. Looking around on the floor she stepped on a specially marked tile with a great amount of force and a frame chamber rose. Stepping inside the tube like chamber it closed sealing.

In moments the floor opened and half a dozen mechanical arms lifted into the tube and began peeling away her frame using intensive lazar-like beams to break invisible seals that were hidden throughout the amour.

Despite their functionality, Nabiki thought it was inefficient to literally tear frames to pieces each and every time one removed it. The frame, once it is given to an owner, belongs to them for life. So it was important to protect them. Once removed, the torn pieces were stored in secure vaults deep within the frame complex, waiting to be called back by their owner and reassembled. Dismantling a frame takes only seconds, but calling it back took time, and in an emergency situation could prove deadly.

Stepping out of the tube her frame removed and safely on its way to some remote hidden vault, she once more scanned the room. It seemed all the new students where clueless as to how to remove their frames except Ranko who was watching one of the second year boys as he called up a frame chamber. Ranko in turn looked around for the markings and was able to call her own which Nabiki made note of.

It was probably to small a thing to actually care about, but she had come to the conclusion she wanted to learn all she could about Ranko. Not because she was Ranko but because she was a spacer.

Akane and herself, as well as Kasumi, lived a sheltered life. Their father was a wealthy man who grew rich off of their mother's scientific accomplishments. With such wealth, it was easy to travel from system to system on vacation or simply on a day out, but in all that time and on all those trips they had never come face to face with a true spacer. Of course they met colonists who had moved to or spent a lot of time in space, but the difference between a spacer and colonist was as day and night.

Ranko was the first true spacer to cross their path and everything about her was different. Her attitude, her style, even her mannerisms where alien to some degree and was it possible that the way Ranko was able to survive Akane's attack was something any spacer could accomplish? There where so many questions she wanted answered and she was going to spare no expense to get them.

Adjusting her wrist computer's interface and verifying that the record of the fight had been received successfully she left the room, the blast doors having opened upon detecting no more frames in use.

--

Brigs stood staring down at the students as they left the training room, the floor he stood on was transparent giving the illusion he stood on air. He had witnesses Akane attacking Ranko and was surprised at the outcome, but didn't put much thought into it as he had come to acknowledge the abilities some rare spacers possessed

He had marked her as a spacer before she even stepped foot in the training room and had no love for them. His love for spacers was once as big as his heart, a heart that had long ago been torn from his chest on that fateful day. The day that changed his life from one as a man of peace to one as a man of war.

Spacers where spacers, but this girl was something else; she spoke and acted like a spacer but she moved like a demon. When he purposely riled her anger to set her strait, it was almost shocking how quickly and violently she had attacked him. Of course he was prepared for it and effortlessly defended himself. It was when she came to a stop in that stance… that painful familiar stance that he lost all interest in the fight.

That stance he remembered as clearly as if it where his own name and only one man had ever stood before him with it, he tightened a fist in anger. Whoever this girl was she was not a run of the mill spacer and he wondered if she was related to 'that man'. She was definitely someone he would keep his eyes on from now on.

"Brigs."

Brigs looked up from the floor that suddenly became solid once more no longer offering him a view of the now empty training room.

"Yes mother?" Brigs spoke as a wall came alight with a holo projection of a female dressed in a heavy elegant dress. She had no expression on her face in fact there was no face to be seen as it was simply a smother surface lacking eyes, nose, and mouth.

"The boy did not survive." The voice replied in soft compassion, feeling the loss,

"I expected as much." Brigs replied crossing his arms not sounding at all concerned with the fact. "Why have you called me here?"

"I have called you here to relay the wishes of the counsel." Mother spoke causing Brigs eyes to wide noticeable in shock. The counsel? The ones who stood over all humanity and directed its path with their will alone? What reason would they have to contact him, they the rulers of humanity?

--

Ranko felt sick as she stared strait ahead, it wasn't the agony she felt in her stomach or the fact she had not eaten in 24 hours. No it was the fact she was about to be parted with one of her arms and most likely a leg.

"You promised." Her I.D. demanded smugly causing her to truly contemplated reformatting the A.I. The clerk before her had been witness to the conversation between the two of them the moment she had entered the bazaar. The expression on his face was that of restrained laughter and she didn't know if it was at the comedic value of being commanded by her A.I. to upgrade it or that he believed her to be a tech lover and found some sick humor in it.

"What payment plans do you offer?" Ranko sighed and continued to rub her stomach like she had been ever since her frame had melted off her. She was puzzled about what the mechanical arms had been for in the tube. The moment they had appeared her frame began to melt into streams of liquid and vanished down the shaft below her.

"What is your allowance level?" The clerk asked the corners of his lips trying to stay neutral but twitching upwards every few seconds, voice tight with laughter.

"C." Ranko responded dejected. It was the lowest allowance given to students.

Attending ASTRA was like applying to a career before you have the skills. With countless conglomerate and muti-system corporations that are always looking for and edge over the competition, they invest in promising students in hopes of acquire them when they have completed their learning. It was clear not a single one had put any faith or hope in her becoming an asset.

"For C allowance level we can only offer this plan." The clerk tapped the counter between them and a holo chart revealed itself showing her everything she needed to know. If she was careful she could afford it and still be able to eat and maybe even afford a few extra minutes in her shower now and then.

"I'll take it." Ranko let her dread and loss fill her voice as her I.D. all but glowed with excitement… literally as it holo screen lit up. The clerk held out a contract pad and she passed her I.D. over it followed by her credit card, the holo above the desk instantly filling with her details and credit information.

"Thank you, and please enjoy your upgrade." The clerk finely broke down laughing almost doubled over causing Ranko to scowl and walk away leaving the man to be stared at by some new customers who had walked in but suddenly decided to look elsewhere for their shopping.

"You happy?" Ranko growled to her I.D. The holo screen was showing a progress bar, probably her I.D. downloading her newer self. Her I.D. didn't respond as the bar finished and the holo display began to flicker and distort.

Ranko sighed, she knew of A.I., but she did know much about them. Specifically she didn't really know why an A.I. needed an upgrade. If they where upgraded, did it change them? Wouldn't upgrading an A.I. essentially kill it, did her A.I. just commit suicide? She didn't know.

"Upgrade complete." Her I.D. stated in the same voice as before but is sounded satisfied and pleased.

"Happy now?" Ranko grumbled walking along a crowded plaza walkway with dozens of food vendors and a few tourist booths. She had on a whim decided to explore ASTRA after class had been dismissed and found herself in the visitors dome.

It made sense to her to visit here this was as good a place as any to learn more about ASTRA. Where else could she be drowned in trivial useless facts by blaring and intrusive holo-ads that popped up in front of her as if to block the way. Even as she listened to them she didn't stick around for the show and continued walked right though them like mostly everyone else.

"I am." Her I.D. purred in reply which made Ranko scowl.

"So tell me what's so great about you now?" Ranko inquired as she noticed an appealing food vendor and took a seat at one of the old fashioned tables they had littered around it and waited for a server to arrive.

"I am now able to adapt to an existing template or create my own avatar as well as directly modifying my personality program to match. I can access all ASTRA databases and news feeds simultaneously and complete complex search algorithms. Also the upgrade has stabilized my program so I may be freely transferred into other devices if you wished to remove me from your I.D. card." Her card explained in a ditzy voice as a pair of hands appeared on her I.D.'s holo projection counting off the points on fingers.

"Ok ok! I get it." Ranko muttered as her I.D. suddenly multiplied the hands a hundred times to show how many points she was about to make. "You don't need to give me every detail."

"Very well master-sama." Her I.D. spoke obediently, but the master-sama was slurred in a mocking way. Ranko shook her head and sighed amused. She and her I.D. where going to get along just fine, that is if they didn't end up killing each other.

"You need a name." Ranko stated as a server finely made their way to her table bowing and offered her a menu. They where a bi-oid and didn't offer any conversation as they waited her selection. Pointing at the first thing that sounded edible and cheap enough to fit her budget, the bi-iod retreated.

"Did you have a name in mind, master-sama?" Her I.D. suddenly changed her voice to that of a child and even giggled at the end. Perhaps it was a mistake to have her I.D. call her that.

"Pain in the ass is starting to sound fitting." Ranko stared down her I.D. which made a chibi face on the holo grid with a tongue sticking out.

"How about Sinfa?" Ranko offered.

"Sinfa, the name is suitable." Her I.D. replied in a thoughtful way before asking. "Dose the name have any relevance to you?"

"Yea." Ranko smirked as the server appeared beside her and place her meal down only to once more vanish. "It was the name of a ferret some old geezer who lived on the same station as me when I young had. It was a real pain in the ass too." Her I.D. glared at her and didn't look happy at the selection.

"Please choose another name." It demanded.

"Nope I like that one. From now on you're Sinfa." Ranko smirked as Sinfa made a tiny devil on the holo grid stomping up and down angrily.

As she started to pick away at her meal Sinfa seemed to take it as permission to do whatever she liked. The holo grid vanishing but the activity lights on her I.D. card began flashing like strobe lights and Ranko wondered just what freedoms the upgrade now allowed her A.I. to take.

"Guess I really don't have an appetite after all." Ranko whispered to herself a hand still soothing her wound. Even the few bites she had managed to take from her meal had been painfully hard to swallow as if her body no longer remembered how to eat.

"Not surprising. You should be in a med center." Ranko looked up in displeasure to see Nabiki boldly take the seat across from her at the table. Nabiki had a micro book in one hand and was reading from it while sipping from a drink in the other.

"I didn't ask for company." Ranko stared with hostility. Nabiki turned her eyes up from the pages of the book to receive the glare before retuning to her reading.

"Mmm, I'm impressed. It says here you have degrees in advanced mechanical theory, advanced electronic interfaces, and even warp way calculation." Nabiki spoke conversationally and brought a flare of anger from Ranko. How dare she read her file.

"What do you want?" Ranko demanded dangerously.

"Just to talk." Nabiki smiled closing her book and crossing her arms on the table leaning over them. Her smile faded to something far more serious a few moments later. "What my sister did was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

"Is that it?" Ranko's eyes narrowed, as if she wanted an apology.

"No." Nabiki continued. "Our mother was killed several years ago by a spacer, ever since then Akane has had issues with them. It is best you avoid her for both your sakes."

"Blah blah blah." Ranko rolled her eyes and sighed exasperated. "You think I care?" Nabiki looked suddenly furious which made her smile and motivated her to continue.

"Why is it that every colonist I meet has a sob story about injustices and cruelty inflicted upon them by spacers? Why does the world stop when one of you gets themselves killed in space? Don't you know for every one of you dieing and blaming us, fifteen of our brothers and sisters die in comparison.

Space isn't a safe place princess. It's hard and cruel and you soft sheltered dome raised weeds don't get it. You prance into space as if it where your back yard and get yourself killed over the stupidest of reasons only to turn around and blame us for not preventing it.

How many friends and family members have died on you in the past? I'm guessing only your mother. Twenty-four is the number of people who I considered closer then blood. Twenty-four men and women I would have died for but instead was forced to watch as they died instead. Three of them killed by idiot colonists who didn't know how to operate their own ships and crashed into the docking bay and decompressed an airlock.

So yea, your Sister may have a chip on her shoulder about your mother but do you think I really give a damn? You think I'm going to sit here and pretend to understand that she has a reason or right to hate me or my people so much that she can get off with almost killing me. Hell if I was like her and took every reason available to me to hate you colonists I might as well drop a nuke on you right now. If you think your or her issues means anything you're kidding yourself." Ranko finished and glared hatefully at Nabiki.

Nabiki had listened but her expression had not changed from the initial anger she had at Ranko's insensitivity to the death of her mother. Nabiki finally leaned back as a server came to serve her and to Ranko's surprise she ordered something showing no intention of leavening as Ranko had hoped.

"I'm sorry about your friends and family who died." Nabiki stated indifferently as the server left.

"I don't want your apologies." Ranko growled.

"You have them anyways." Nabiki set her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers to cradle her chin and stared Directly into Ranko's eyes challengingly. Ranko finely realized how dangerous she was.

This person… Nabiki who sat across from her, she was perhaps the most dangerous person Ranko had ever met and the tingling chill that was slowly creeping up her spine made her feel physically ill She was no physical threat; no she was dangerous in a way Ranko had no experience in dealing with.. She had to be careful around her, she had to be very careful indeed.

Once the server arrived with Nabiki's meal she began to eat casually and in return Ranko returned to her meal as well. No more words where shared between them as they ate in silence sharing a quiet battle of emotionless stares and challenges.

--

End

--


	3. Chapter 3

Ranma 3030

A/N: again thanks for proof from James Axelrad. Also a few comments. Ranma will be appearing and he is a large part of the story, this is a long story to tell. This is a completely original universe I've created and the similarities with others are just coincidental. I plan to bring in a good portion of the Ranma characters into the story and none of them should have small parts.

Thanks for the reviews.

--

Chapter 2

--

It was with a painful moan that she had awoken, her abdomen was killing her and she hoped now literally. Cracking her eyes opened she looked towards her desk finding Sinfa perched there sitting on the edge kicking her feet while wearing a schoolgirl outfit. She was also glaring stubbornly.

"Time to get up!" Sinfa demanded. Ranko rolled over to ignore her only to be assaulted by the same voice blaring at three times louder.

"Ok! Ok! I'm getting up…" Ranko complained and did as she said. Slipping out of bed she removed her skin suit and tossed it on her desk flattening Sinfa below it who complained loudly at the cruelty of the act causing Ranko's to smile.

Weakly she entered her shower and activated it. As the water began to cascade over her body she looked down past her breasts to the angry mosaic of blacks and blues that had been painted across the entirety of her abdomen. Frowning she hoped it wouldn't effect her performance today as she suspected yesterday had been the only breath of fresh air any of the class was going to be allowed under the supervision of Brigs.

Falling back against the wall of the shower she let out a shallow breath and brought her hands to her breasts, shamelessly caressing them. It felt so nice to relax like this drowning in a steamy downpour of oiled water. After the events of yesterday she had been eagerly waited to return to her shower and now here, back within it, she purred as it soothed her aching wound making the day seem so worth it. Even the fight with Akane.

"Shower Hotter." She grimaced as the heat in the alcove became suffocating, the water burned across her skin like fire and forcing its warmth so deep inside her body that it warmed her bones. Sighing in bliss she opened her eyes only to gasp startled at finding Sinfa hovering over her glaring. She was wearing a rain suit along with an umbrella, her image being projected from a holo projector in the ceiling.

"You're going to be late!" Sinfa snapped.

"I haven't been in here that long, get out!" Ranko cried and covered herself with one arm while she swatted Sinfa who dematerialized with the other. "Are you some kind of pervert!?"

"You have been showering ten minutes, if you don't leave immediately you will be late." Sinfa complained though a comm Ranko wasn't even aware existed inside the shower and for that matter she wasn't aware there had been a holo projector as well. Blushing furiously at being caught doing something so intimate she shut she shower off, paid the usage fee, and stomped out.

Casting a glare at her skin suit that still trapped Sinfa below it; she retrieved the self drying towel of her desk. She had bought it yesterday on her way home after parting ways with Nabiki. Wrapping the towel around herself she began to dry off enjoying the soft friction the fabric gave as it absorbed the water still dripping from her.

"Don't ever do that again!" Ranko complained loudly face still burning brightly. Sinfa gave no reply but she was sure she understood. It took her a few minutes to dry, her hair taking most of that time but she would not have it any other way. There was something so much more satisfying about putting an effort into her morning routine instead of letting some colonist designed tech pamper her.

Nodding at a job well done she folded the soaked towel and tossed it on her desk, it would be dry again in an hour. She retrieved her skin suit and slipped it on quickly bringing a wince as it aggravated her stomach. Once she had reattached all her accessories she left her room Sinfa reappearing and sat on her shoulder wearing a skin suit that looked exactly like her own.

"If you don't take the glow ways you will be late for sure." Sinfa explained casually. It was a welcome change from the range of mocking and cutesy attitudes Ranko had to put up with since the upgrade.

"Guess I'll be late." Ranko sighed and was in the middle of doing up her hair once more. Even if she had the wound it was no excuse to take it easy. Hair tied, she started off with a jog that quickly increased to a brisk run. Each movement bringing fireworks of pain but she grinned and bared it like she had always done.

"Brigs didn't seem like a nice man." Sinfa spoke worriedly still sitting on her shoulder. "He said you would be in trouble if you where last again. You shouldn't be late."

"I can handle him." Ranko growled as she came out on a familiar walkway, the one she had leapt from the day before but in her condition she didn't want to risk it and regrettably continued on to the stairs some ways farther along the walkway.

The rest of the way was spent in silence; by the time she had reached the frame training room she was several minutes late. Breathing deeply she slowed and strolled in where the students, like the day before, were lined up and staring. Brigs had his arms crossed and looked as mad as hell.

"I believe I told you if you where last again there would be consequences." Brigs spoke dangerously in a deep slow voice. "Do you have a reason for being last again Saotome, or an excuse why you are late?"

"Nope." Ranko answered but then decided to add cheekily. "Got carried away in the shower."

Brigs eyes narrowed and she could have sworn she heard a bone cracking in his knuckles even from this distance. Many of the students gave her queer looks a few confused while other where obviously thinking in the gutter and snickered. She noticed Akane and Nabiki again not to far away. Akane didn't look her way while Nabiki wore a smile she didn't think was at all related to her comment.

"Get in line Saotome." Brigs ordered finely. Not wanted to lose what appeared to be a free pass she quickly found a place in line. Maybe old Brigs weren't such a hard ass after all she thought.

"Room lockdown." Brigs barked and waited for the blast doors to seal. "Unlike yesterday, today you are going to sweat and you are going to bleed. Combat training ladies and gentlemen; I don't care if you haven't thrown a single punch once in your life. Today you are going to learn how to fight like it or not.

Once you frame up you will be paired up with a partner and you are going to fight. If you choose not to fight I warn you, you're still going to get hit. Know that there are no rules. Fighting is not about honor and fairness it's about winning. Now suit up and pick a partner, if you don't I'll choose one for you." Brigs finished loudly.

Ranko was one of the first to break ranks and hunt down a call plate for the frame tubes. From the sound of it a lot of the students weren't happy about today's lesson and she noted that, as she passed, the sensitive girl from yesterday almost looked in tears. Rolling her eyes she stomped on a pad and a tube slide up from the floor.

Stepping inside the tube it closed around her and she waited for something the happen until a holo projection before her blinked to life giving her a time till her frame would arrived. How did brigs expect them to learn combat training from fighting each other? She doubted less then five of the dozens of students present had ever trained in martial arts.

Waiting impatiently she rubbed her abdomen and frowned, despite being sore, it was also becoming quite tender. With any luck she would be paired with someone who didn't know how to fight and make it easer on her, otherwise she was going to have to be careful and protect this weakness carefully.

Suddenly the indicator blinked off and the floor parted, once more the arms lifted and like before served no purpose she could see. Her frame that had melted off her last time was creeping up from the darkness below like some kind of alien blob with thick tentacle like arms wrapping around her legs. Once it had made contact it spread out over her sucking itself up and around her limbs at surprising speeds till after only a few moments her frame had reformed around her exactly as it had been the day before.

After the arms vanished she left the tube, many of the other students were doing the same, and after a few minutes everyone was ready. Deciding to see if anyone would pick her as a partner she returned to the area where they had lined up and waited. Only a few of the students picked partners and she thought the pairs must be friends at how they interacted with one anther.

"Everyone framed? Good!" Brigs barked. "If you don't have a partner find one, except you Saotome. You're with me." Ranko figured she had a penalty from being late after all and the gasps that arose from every student in the room made a feeling of dread appear. Even Akane and Nabiki wore startled looks; she had made a note to keep her eyes on them since yesterday. This definitely wasn't good.

With the heavy feeling settling into her bones she wordlessly closed the distance between her and Brigs who continued to bark at students who where reluctant to find a partner and paired them up forcefully. Crossing her arms she waited, but it didn't take long to straighten the others out and in moments Brigs was standing before her staring down menacingly.

"Now that you're paired up you're going to fight. But first I think it's best to demonstrate what combat truly is." The grin Brigs favored her with was one she didn't like. He wasn't wearing a frame to her relief, but in her condition she figured he still had the advantage.

"Line up and watch!" Brigs ordered and Ranko watched as the students took their places in their assigned pairs. Great… first Akane makes an example of her, now Brigs was going to do the same, but this time he was going to making a lesson of it.

He started the fight coming straight at her without any warning and with a massive fist which she dodged, rolling to the side as she spun while trying to kick his legs out. He had seen though the action and braced him legs to absorb it, the action rendering all her momentum gone and vulnerable to attack in her crouched position.

Giving her no room to recover he kicked out towards her face which she leaned back to avoid and pushed of with her hands in a propelled hand stand. Unlike their fight before he choose to close the distance with a lightning fast knee to her gut. She had been slow in her escape and Brigs was more then happy to exploit the mistake, she had no chance to avoid.

The impact was strong and her tender wound amplified its potency a hundred fold. She might as well have been naked for all the protection her frame offered this venerable area. She stumbled backwards on shaky legs that gave out as she collapsed unable to breathe, eyes filling with tears of pain. After a few moments she was finely able to inhale a ragged breath and grit her teeth.

Brigs didn't allow her much time to recover as a massive hand wrapped around her neck and roughly dragged her to her feet pulling her face inches from his. Opening her teary eyes she glared a painful sneer at him, his own face contorted in what was a mixture of rage and disgust.

"You're still injured from yesterday, why haven't you visited a med center?" He growled. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the students whispering worriedly and a few where even loud enough for her to hear.

"She didn't go to the med center after that? Is she some sort of idiot?"

"I don't even know how she lived."

"Serves her right, she's a spacer after all."

"Slipped my mind sorry." Ranko replied hoarsely as the fierce pain that continued to pulse though her like concussion bombs. Brigs griped suddenly tightened around her neck nearly choking her.

"Do you think this is some sort of game?" The anger in Brigs voice had raised a notch as he spoke down to her. "Think you're a tuff guy?"

"I'm not some colonist that needs to run to the med center after scraping their knee." Ranko jeered and felt she shouldn't have said it at the expression she was rewarded.

"Ah? Is that so?" Brigs raised an eye brow losing all his anger. "Well then by all means let us continue."

The fist came out of nowhere slamming into her face and rocketing her backwards. Somehow she had managed to keep her balance which only served to allow Brigs full reign over her as he began to use her like a target dummy. She quickly lost track of the punches and kicks that continuously rained down on her, no way to defend herself. She was a rag doll before the might of this bastard as he beat and broke her body.

Sometime later the blows stopped and she was surprised to find herself still standing, if bearably and leaning heavily forward on her knees. She felt numb and dazed, the thick iron taste of her blood clearing it somewhat as blood dripping and pouring from a gash over her eye. Looking up she smirked at Brig's indifferent expression.

"Tendo, Nabiki,. Please escort Saotome to the med center and tend to her 'scraped knee'." Brigs ordered.

"That's ok sir, all I need is a band-aid." Ranko grinned weakly before coughing up some blood. Damn him, he went for her abdomen again, didn't he? Her whole body was numb and she couldn't tell where the damage was but she was sure Brigs had made a point of doing a number on her.

Despite her words Brigs turned away and began to address the students who looked positively terrified. Most of them stared at her in horror even the one who had voiced his opinion on spacers. It was most likely none of them had ever witnessed such a brutal beating and no doubt served as an eye opener for half of them, exactly like she thought, colonists where weak. Distracted by the crowed she failed to notice Nabiki till she had wordlessly came to her side and collected her in her arms like some newlywed,

"What the hell do you think your doing?" Ranko spat before breaking down into painful coughing. "Put me down I can walk."

"You can't walk. If you could I wouldn't be carrying you." Nabiki replied mater of fact, looking up, Ranko found Nabiki to be pale. Even Nabiki was affected by the fight; perhaps she overestimated the vibe she got from her the other day.

"Put me down and I'll prove it." Ranko growled but Nabiki didn't take the bait.

"Move your legs then. If you can walk you can move and kick your legs while I'm carrying you." Nabiki challenged and Ranko eagerly accepted. Gritting her teeth she tried with all her will but only succeeded in barely wiggling them. Feeling a sudden flash of anger and humility at the situation she now found herself in she glared hatefully at Nabiki as if she had caused it.

"Your bodies in shock" Nabiki explained. "It's also why you can't feel how much shit you just had beaten out of you. I'm amazed your even conscience after something like that."

"I'm not a weak colonist is why." Ranko replied hotly and turned to see most of the students where staring after her still as Nabiki carried her from the training room. Brigs was going to pay for this humiliation.

"If being a spacer means you have to put up with that sort of thing I'm glad I'm a colonist." Nabiki replied neutrally, but Ranko felt it was an attack on her people.

"And that's why you're a colonist because none of you have any backbone of willpower to survive in space. You're all weak." Ranko spoke hatefully but once again Nabiki refused to take the bait.

"You may be right." Nabiki spoke simply. Ranko never knew someone agreeing with her could anger her so deeply, she wanted to reach up and strangle Nabiki but her arms lay limp on her chest.

"Why the hell did Brigs have you of all people escort me huh?" Ranko closed her eyes feeling increasingly dizzy losing interest in trying to start an argument.

"Because my frame is tuned for intelligence gathering including medical scanning, it makes me the best candidate for dealing with injured frame operators. The men in charge of the frame complex want to see how far my frame can evolve in the medical field so every time there's an injury I'm tasked with dealing with them." Nabiki explained.

"Sounds like a bunch of bull to me." Ranko sighed as her body began to tingle and her injuries began to reveal themselves, she didn't like the alarming number of them she was finding.

"I warned you this would happen." Sinfa suddenly appeared sitting cross legged on Ranko's forehead again wearing the same skin suit as her owner. The sudden appearance startled Nabiki; Ranko could tell by the tightening of her arms.

"Shut up." Ranko felt a headache coming on.

"Next time don't spend so much time in the shower." Sinfa continued. The comment made Nabiki give a small laugh.

"So you weren't lying? Nabiki asked and Ranko felt another stab of embarrassment. If it wasn't enough she was being carried around like some child, now Nabiki thought her little joke had been real and that she had been doing something lewd. Before Ranko could counter Sinfa spoke quickly.

"Nope, she was all over herself!" Sinfa clarified.

Ranko growled with the painful effort it took to slap a hand over her I.D., effectively killing the holo projection of Sinfa in the process. "I was tending to my wound." Ranko lied fiercely as her face felt on fire. When she was alone with Sinfa they where going to have a very long talk about this.

Nabiki didn't make another comment and they remained silent as they continued in silence all the way to the med center that was closer then Ranko had suspected. Entering a long corridor Ranko noted a dozen or more doorways. Every room completely bare of detail except for a single long table in the center of each.

Walking into the furthest most room Nabiki placed her down on a table and then retreating to the door, passing an arm over a panel beside it. Ranko thought it was to call the med center staff till the door sealed itself with only the pair of them inside.

"We are going to have to get you out of that Frame." Nabiki explained as she came to her side once more and began to tap away at a holo interface that had appeared on the edge of the table.

"What, you're going to treat me?" Ranko scoffed.

"Don't trust me?" Nabiki countered and continued to type away at the interface.

"Got that right, and how do I know you even know what your doing?" Ranko complained.

"Well seeing as you can't move I don't think it maters if you can trust me or not. As for knowing what I'm doing, you will just have to wait and see." Nabiki smirked and stopped typing just as a panel beside the table slid away and familiar mechanical arms rose, the ones from inside the frame tubes.

"Just what are those for anyways?" Ranko asked as her suit began to melt like before and slip of the table oozing into the pit.

"What the hell?" Nabiki was staring at her completely confused.

"Huh?" Ranko blinked back. Nabiki was staring after her suit in confused shock. Once the suit had vanished along with the arms the expression still remained.

"That's not suppose to happen." Nabiki spoke more to herself then to Ranko. "I've never seen a frame do that before."

"Whatever." Ranko sighed as it was becoming painful the breath, the shock of her body wearing through and her injury's beginning to scream. "You going to treat me or not?"

Nabiki shook off her surprise and began to tap away at the interface again commanding a holo grid to appear throughout the room along with many floating displays showing various vital statistics on Ranko and her condition.

"Did your frame do the same thing in the training room chambers?" Nabiki asked.

"Yea, didn't see anything wrong with it." Ranko grit her teeth and tried not to let out a painful moan. God Brigs really did do a number on her she thought as several beams of light began to crisscross over her body scanning her injuries in detail.

"How was it put back on?" Nabiki continued much to Ranko's annoyance.

"The same way it came off! ahh!" Ranko sucked in a sudden breath of air as her outburst aggravated pretty much every injury she had. Panting lightly she quickly controlled the spasms of pain and tried to relax while waiting for whatever it was Nabiki had intended to do. The truth was, this would be her very first visit to a med center, at least what colonists consider a med center.

Spacer med centers where more practical and relied on old technologies as colonists always loved to complain about. Most of it was nanite based used to treat burns, bind open wounds, and strengthen broken bones. It was often painful to administer but the effects where second to none even among colonist standards.

"We are going to have to remove your skin suit as well.' Nabiki frowned as her interface informed her.

"Like hell." Ranko growled threateningly.

"Your injuries are deep. We can't treat them with your suit on." Nabiki explained but Ranko refused to listen. As Nabiki reached over her to try and remove her suit Ranko struggled.

"Stop it your only going to aggravate your injuries and it's not like I haven't seen you naked before." Nabiki growled reminding her of the customs and registration office. Ranko was momentarily stunned at hearing that and gave her the opportunity she needed to quickly unbind her skin suit.

Ranko turned her head away with a look promising death as she admitted defeat, allowing Nabiki to tug away at her suit slowly removing it. She tried to ignore all the intimate places Nabiki's hands came across as they tugging the skin tight suit from her limp body. She didn't need to look up to feel Nabiki's eyes on her drinking in every detail as the suit slowly vanished, revealing her tender damaged flesh and she couldn't help but growl softly never having felt so exposed and vulnerable in her life.

Once the suit had been fully removed Nabiki stood at her side and retrieved a glove like device that had descended from the ceiling which was attached to a pulsing cord of light. Slipping it on, the light began to pulse through the glove as well, flowing like veins.

"I can't believe you didn't get this taken care off." Nabiki's voice was soft and accusing as she placed the glove on her black and blue abdomen, its touch warm and soothing, and began to caress in a small circles. Ranko refused to response as she tightened her fists and continued to look away defiantly as if trying to ignore the situation all together.

Time seemed to lose its meaning as she lay there with Nabiki caressing her in a way she could only describe as intimate. Whatever the device did, it was doing it, her abdomen was growing warm and it seemed as if the heat itself was burning away the pain. Instead of growing relaxed by it, she only found herself become more and more tense with each passing second.

"Are you done yet?" Ranko bit out with hostility and gritted her teeth. She wanted to be out of this room as soon as possible and away for this woman.

"You're really hurt. It's going to take some time." Nabiki replied with a sigh.

"I think its good enough. We're done." Ranko countered and tried to sitting up regardless of the shooting pain that sprang through her mid-section as if it had never been touched by the device.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nabiki snapped and pushed her back down forcefully with hand and glove on her shoulders. Ranko glared up at her in wild fury and continued to struggle and kick trying to knock her away but was quickly over powered as Nabiki all but lay across her torso and pinned her arms beside her head.

"Let me up!" Ranko demanded yelling into Nabiki's face which was right above hers and breathed heavily from the pain and exertion.

"Are you crazy?" Nabiki growled right back. "Don't you even realize what condition you're in? I'll strap you down if I have to, your not leaving here until I'm done with you!"

Ranko could do little more then glare death up at Nabiki and she fought to control her emotions. How dare she, how dare this colonist weed subject her to this humiliation. How dare she touch her in such a way, how dare she hold her down!

It was impossible to keep the trembling that began to filter through her body from being revealed or the clear intense fear that filled her eyes. She didn't want to be here, naked and at the mercy of this woman, not her, anyone but her. Her face trembled terribly as she tried to maintain her determined hateful expression that wanted to so badly change into one full of tears.

Had she been in a more stable frame of mind she would have noticed Nabiki's shock reaction to the sight, her eyes had softened and lips parted slightly an expression of realization. The expression did not remain long as Nabiki regained her composer and stood her hands still pinning Ranko.

"Are you going to keep fighting me or are you going to let me do my job?" Nabiki asked with an air of authority that cut through Ranko's stubbornness. Gritting her teeth she wordlessly turned away again just as she had at the beginning and went limp. Taking that as her answer Nabiki returned to her task and did her best to speed the process up.

It wasn't till several hours later Nabiki was satisfied all the major damage had been dealt with and chose to forgo the minor ones for Ranko's sake. Giving one last glance over Ranko's body, now devoid of visible injury, she nodded and removed the glove which returned to the ceiling on its own.

Silently Ranko sat up on the table and placed her back to Nabiki. They had not shared a single word since the struggle, perhaps due to the tension that remained heavy in the air. Retrieving her skin suit from Nabiki's outstretched arm she slid into it slowly, body still trembling lightly. Once the suit was on and fully sealed a feeling of security returned to her allowing her to turn to Nabiki with a hateful expression

"Can I go now doc?" She asked.

"As long as promise to take it easy the rest of the day, I healed the worst of it but you still have some injury's that can become a problem if you aggravate them." Nabiki explained and walked to the door to unseal the room. "Class isn't over yet but I don't think it will matter now."

"Not like I need combat training." Ranko said distastefully as she hopped off the edge of the table and made her way for the door. Before she could pass through she was halted by Nabiki's hand around her upper arm.

"I don't give a crap if you are a spacer or not, there is no excuse for you to have been walking around with an injury like that. I don't ever want to see you in here in that condition again." Nabiki glared at her with such anger that it startled her.

"What do you care?" Ranko hissed back at her challengingly, breaking the grip.

"I care enough to tell you." Nabiki replied her expression hard.

Ranko stared unable to accept the response or come up with something to scream in reply. In the end she was unable to resolve her indecision and turned sharply away from Nabiki, storming out of the room fueled by fury. How dare Nabiki… how dare her.

--

"Initiating warp collapse, captain." A bridge hand announced formally.

"Very good, we got lucky this time." The captain spoke with an air of relief. "Only one more jump to go."

The captain watched as his ship tore a hole into normal space and smiled. It wasn't much of a ship, only a light freighter but it meant the world to him and after this run he would finely be able to upgrade her the way he always wished.

When he was approached about this job, he was filled with an unnerving sensation that it was the one job he should pass up. However he had a reputation to uphold. His moto was, transport anything anywhere for the proper price, and he lived by it never turning down a single job.

The job was simple, transport some government related cargo from point A to point B, no bells or whistles He didn't like to deal with government related stuff for the pure reason they paid crap, but this job, this job was well above crap pay and that had been the red flag that made him consider this decision thoroughly.

Anyone paying such a high amount for a simple cargo hull obviously had some secrets to keep. He wasn't the sort to ask questions. Sure this may be related to some conspiracy some fancy pants colonist set in motion, or some illegal goods, but he didn't particularly care. What mattered was that the shipping documents were legit and that was what was going to fill his pockets with credits.

"Ten minutes till warp is ready again." The only other bridge hand spoke.

"Good work, take five, then we can get this last jump calculated and through with. Find us a nice resort afterwards to celebrate at." The captain laugh deeply, this job had been a boost in moral for his two crew members who welcomed the bonus, business having been slow of late.

As his crew left the bridge he leaned back and propped his legs up on his control consol. They were a good crew and had stuck with him through the good and the bad. They had survived countless pirate attacks as well as business boycotting and general lack of business. They where brothers, not by blood, but by hardship and that sort of bond could never be broken.

Yes, he answered an unspoken question which he had been thinking about for a long time. After this haul he was going to co-sign his crew to the ship's deed and make the three of them partners. Without them the ship would have vanished long ago and it was the only true way he could show his gratitude to them.

As his console gave a beep he spread his legs curiously to investigate the reason only to have his blood run cold. There was another ship out here now which hadn't been there before. In an instant the ship proximity alarm sounded and his crew broke into the cabin a few seconds later without word and took their seats.

"Ship detected no sign of warp out interference." His first deck hand yelled.

"Damn thing appeared out of no where." The captain barked. "Get the defenses up and give them a hail."

"Hailing." The other deck hand spoke and the bridge went completely silent for several moments as they waited for contact.

"No response." The hand said urgently causing the captain to grit his teeth. Maybe he should have trusted his gut feeling after all.

"What's the ETA till warp's ready?" He barked.

"4 minutes sir." The hand replied.

Damn, that was to long. They had no clue what that ship out there was packing and it only took one mass drive round or bore beam to cut a freighter like his in half. Mass drive was rarer but more deadly firing micro black holes while a bore beam was far more common and just as deadly. Designed for cutting through the densest of rocks, a bore could easily if supplied punch a hole through light freighter amour as if It where paper.

He just hoped they where after cargo and not salvage. If it was the cargo they would have to board, which meant a greater possibility of survival for him and his men. Where if they where only interested in scrap metal they would just blow the freighter apart and pick away at its corpse.

"They have launched two objects, their heading this way but are to slow to be missiles. Judging by their size I believe their exo-suits.

"Hail them again. If they don't answer target those suits and fire. Make sure you tell them we like our personal space." The captain growled and waiting for the ultimatum.

"No response."

"Damn it, Fire." It wasn't the first time he ordered such a thing and he knew it wouldn't be the last. Some pirates where idiots, they thought that fancy exo suit they bought, along with all its anti personnel hardware, would be a great tool to infiltrate and hijack unsuspecting ships. What they didn't realize is those suits couldn't stand up to direct fire from a particle cannon.

"What!? Sir the suits have just broken off course and are accelerating… what? I've never seen suits move this fast!"

"Keep tracking them, little missy has protected us form plenty of asteroid storms, she can pick theses guys off." The captain growled and ignored the feeling of dread in the back of his throat.

"Direct hit! Wait... no, no damage sir! No damage is detected from the target!"

"I want them on screen now!" The captain barked.

"Focusing optical sensors. There." Two different holo's appeared within the bridge and they fell silent as recognition made itself clear. There was no need to speak as the conclusion was decided.

"Well damn." The captain sighed and gave a laugh. "It's been nice flying with you boys… been one hell of a ride."

"You too sir." His hands replied in unison with the same pride and regret as they no longer manned their consoles, leaning back to await the inevitable.

"Damn the wild stallion…" The captain sighed and leaned back himself pulling down his hat to cover his eyes. It was a shame, the captain thought. He really looked forward to treating his men to that resort. It was with a feeling of regret that the captain watched his bridge glow brightly as he disappeared from existence.

--

Nabiki fell boneless into the comforting embrace of her station chair; it had been a long day and she looked forward to some relaxation. Stretching she moaned happily and kicked her legs to enjoy the feeling of air caressing them, no longer wearing her skin suit. She had entered the apartment that she shared with Akane and slipped out of her skin suit in favor of a set of old fashioned shorts and loose fitting t-shirt.

Crossing her arms behind her head she sighed with her eyes closed not yet motivated enough to activate the impressive station that sat before her. It was something she had built for herself in her spare time, a muti monitor monster of a computer that wrapped smoothly around a comfortable reclining chair.

Holo technologies had many advantages but Nabiki was a woman of substance, she enjoyed stuff and useless clutter, preferring things she could pick up and touch as opposed to those that could only be seen. The station was simply a physical interface for her to indulge in, instead of waving her hands around aimlessly at some holo keyboard.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly and lifted a foot lazily and pressed the activation switch with her big toe and sliding a retractable command consol across her lap. Taping a few keys the monitors blinked to life each one with its own tasks and operations; she pulled up her messages sliding it from one of the smaller monitors to the main screen they surrounded.

"Junk… Junk… junk…" Nabiki sighed and nuked messages she had no interest in reading and as she nuked the last one she realized there was nothing at all that interested her. Changing to another monitor she checked on a few tasks she had left running that morning and still had yet to yield results. On a whim she brought up a task she had started yesterday evening. It was a global search for information on Ranko.

Yesterday as they ate in silence with each other, she decided to look into Ranko's past, specifically the incident with the three spacers dieing in a colonist created accident. It wasn't that she didn't believe Ranko it was only the fact she wanted to see who she had lost. So far she had found no records of such an event and had widened the search, there was always the possibility it had not been recorded which she was starting to suspect.

She wasn't naive enough to think that colonists where as clean and perfect as they believed. Erasing a little incident like that from the record books would hardly be a stretch if it meant keeping face for someone with power. Reviewing the global search she was displeased it had found nothing of value.

Closing her eyes she sighed thinking how boring the night was going to be at this rate before her mind turned towards Ranko once more. She had tried not to put much thought into it at the time and avoided it completely till she got home. It was the expression and reaction Ranko had given as she tended to her, even now she almost thought she made the wrong conclusion.

Tapping her wrist computer which she had saved a complete copy of the day's events to from her frame, she transferred it into her station and slid the command console away to allow a holo grid to appear over her. Tapping the air a few times she located the time code she wished to review and brought it up. It was the fight between Ranko and Brigs.

Replaying it she felt the same sickening emotions and feelings she had the first time. Relentlessly Brigs pounded away at Ranko with solid blows that soaked through her frame as if it where paper. Over and over Ranko was knocked back or completely off her feet but each and every time she only grinned and bared it, returning to her feet awaiting more. She hadn't even bothered to defend herself absorbing the blows almost happily.

By the time Nabiki felt she was going to be sick Brigs had given up his attack and left Ranko teetering weakly. Even through all the punishment she received Ranko had still attempted to goad Brigs on and for that moment Nabiki had been afraid for Ranko's life.

Not of Brigs killing her outright but from not believe her able to survive another brutal beating like the first. How Ranko had accepted the beating so easily scared Nabiki and made her wonder if Ranko had a death wish or if she just didn't know where to draw the line.

She watched as the holo shifted to encompass herself as she picked up Ranko, who complained of course, before carrying her to the med center. The appearance of Ranko's A.I. startled her; in the past three years of being at ASTRA she had met no one who had purchased the upgrade, so seeing a tiny person on Ranko's head had been unnerving.

She smiled again as the A.I. betrayed Ranko and purposely embarrassed her by revealing the truth about her showering. Her amusement didn't last long as she decided to fast forward to the treatment room where she was about to strip Ranko complete skipping the puzzling events of her frame melting. She had already decided to look into the matter another time.

Watching it now, focusing on Ranko a great feeling of urgency filled her. She watched as Ranko grew tense as she striped her never once blinking an eye or looking in her direction. She continued to watch as she began the treatment and Ranko only continued to grow more uncomfortable until finely she tried to escape.

She held Ranko down as she fought and kicked, her frame had made it easy to over power Ranko and hid from her the true amount of strength Ranko had fought her with. The urgency flooded her and suddenly exploded into a feeling she couldn't quite name as she paused the holo, a feeling somewhere between pity and regret.

In the holo she held Ranko pinned, her face contorted in fright as she so desperately tried to hide her emotions. At first she had thought Ranko's fright to be something related to her past… something chilling and cruel. But that wasn't the truth; the truth was far more complex and far more chilling at least to Nabiki. Staring at Ranko's expression and how she contorted her body protectively below her. It was as clear as day.

Ranko was attracted to her, fiercely attracted. Her eyes that where full of intense fear had been softened by longing and her expression that tried so hard to express anger was mixed with an equal amount of denial. The way her legs closed together at the knees and twisted sideways so to protect herself, an image of offered submission and vulnerability. No she was not a victim of some past sin, this fear was directly only towards her and her alone.

Feeling suddenly empty, she hit her stations activation switch with her toe banishing all light from her room as the monitors blinked off and the holo melted away. She rested her arms across her face as a deep heavy sigh left her lips. She wanted to laugh at the thought of love at first sight but she knew love had nothing to do with this.

In hindsight this discovery wasn't a big deal but she couldn't get her head around it. The thought of Ranko being attracted to her wasn't in anyway revolting but it left a feeling of pained sympathy which she could not explain. Perhaps it was Ranko's expression that caused this feeling… even now with her eyes close it would not leave her.

It was so primal, so wild, an expression of cornered pry that both feared death and longed for it to escape its terror. The longer she focused on that expression, the more it turned her insides to knots and made her feel ill. How was she supposed to react to something like this? How was she going to deal with it?

It was clear Ranko was in denial, at least to an extent. It was a comfort thought that Ranko, she was sure, even if she realized the attraction wouldn't pursue it openly. In fact she was sure Ranko would completely ignore it to the best of her ability till it was forced upon her like earlier in the treatment room.

The answer was as simple as that. Now that she knew about it she should just forget it. There was no need to worry herself over something that filled her with confused and conflicting emotions. Just accept it as fact and file it away with all the other trivia she had collected over the years.

"Nabiki are you home?" Akane's call was a welcome distraction to her thoughts and she climbed from her chair leaving her darkened room.

"Yea sis." Nabiki smiled and walked into the center of their living room. It was a large and spacious room that was lit by a solid lightly glowing ceiling. The longest curved wall that was opposite their entrance was a solid sheet of holo glass that was currently transparent to give them an impressive view of one of the most prestigious resident sectors in ASTRA.

Walking down a small ramp to a sunken section of the floor she fell backwards and lay across a comfortable couch. This little section of the living room was her favorite as it several couches surrounding an advanced entertainment holo grid which she thought had never been turned on. No she liked this place for the atmosphere it gave, a warm relaxing place where she had enjoyed partaking in many afternoon naps.

"I'm glad." Akane beamed and walked down the ramp sitting on a couch opposite hers before favoring her with a distasteful look. "Why do you always insist on wearing those things?"

"Comfy." Nabiki grinned cattishly before rolling on her side and propping her head up with an arm. "So what's up?

"Oh! I ran into Kasumi today on the hub rail. She said to say hi." Akane explained and was reaching into a small bag pulling something free. 'She also told me to give you this, you haven't been by recently to pick it up yourself.

Nabiki suddenly caught the object Akane tossed her way, it was an heirloom from their mother she had been given. Nabiki tried not to let her discomfort show as she flipped the holo disc over and over before tossing it on the floor atop the entertainment grid where other similar disks lay. She didn't have much attachment to the thing anymore but she kept up appearances for the sake of it.

"Thanks. So how's Kasumi doing?" Nabiki inquired it had been some time since she bumped into Kasumi herself. Kasumi was just like their mother diving into research and only came up for air when she made a breakthrough. If Nabiki remembered correctly Kasumi was working under a Dr. Tofu in the medical research sector of the ASTRA secondary labs.

"She's doing fine, looks like she found something interesting again. Didn't look like she has been eating much recently though." Akane sighed sadly, and left it at that.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Nabiki commented. "Mother was the same."

"So…. How's Ranko?" Akane asked in a voice Nabiki could not recall ever hearing from her. It was childlike in it stubbornness as if she where embarrassed to ask as well as mixed with a feeling of guilt.

"She's fine." Nabiki spoke tiredly and rolled onto her back crossing her arms behind her head. "Brigs tore her up pretty good but a lot of it was superficial. Most of the damage came from your kick, Brigs of course aggravated it. I don't know what the hell was going on inside her head for her to walk around in that condition. Hell, I don't know how she walked around in that condition."

Akane didn't make any comment as she withdrew into herself. Nabiki was always blunt or honest when it counted and she wasn't going to spare her sisters feelings if it meant hiding the truth. Maybe this event would have a long lasting effect on Akane but Nabiki sadly suspected it would lose its potency in time and Akane would return to her normal temperamental self.

"Combat training go well?" Nabiki inquired. Having been in the frame program for three years now, entering when she was 18, she had been subjected to many combat training lessons. They where not fun or enjoyable but she had survived them easily enough, her father had taught her basic marital arts which helped greatly.

"The primers had a pretty tough time, along with everyone else it seemed." Akane explained quietly. "I think everyone was affected by Ranko's beating, no one was able to focus and everyone made a lot of mistakes." Nabiki nodded silently as it wasn't surprising to hear.

Just then a buzzing beep filled the room and repeated every few seconds, it was a holo transmission from someone. As Nabiki was too comfortable to make a move Akane answered it by leaning forward and passing her hand over the entertainment holo grid.

"Dad?" Akane spoke happily.

"Ah! Akane how is my little girl doing?" Soun Tendo beamed and reached out hugging Akane who accepted it with rolled eyes as her Fathers embrace passed right through her.

"I'm fine daddy, how are things?" Akane smiled.

"Good, good. Had an ecological specialist by the house today but even he couldn't explain why the koi keep dieing in the pond." Soun burst into tears as he finished.

"Not the koi again? How many times has it been now?" Akane frowned.

"Daddy you forgot to feed them again." Nabiki rolling away from the holo screen sighed. Honestly their father never learned.

"Nabiki?" Soun quickly turned left and right till her noticed Nabiki with her back to him.

"Hi daddy." Nabiki yawned and waved over her shoulder.

"Ah, let me see my little girls face!" Soun begged pouting.

"You have a life size holo of it on your desk." Nabiki sighed exasperated. "Besides I'm too comfy to roll over."

"Nabiki you're so cruel to your pappa!" Soun wailed which only caused Nabiki so smile out of sight.

"So why did you call daddy?" Akane asked.

"Oh, yes yes I nearly forgot." Soun cleared his throat with a cough and straitened. "I'm going to be out of system for a while. I've been invited to be part of a colonist resort space cruise. It's supposed to take us on a tour to secluded nebulas and exotic uninhabited worlds."

"That's great daddy!" Akane smiled and Nabiki rolled her eyes again.

"Make sure you doesn't sign anything while on it daddy. They probably want you to invest in them or something and I'm not going to get you out of it this time." Nabiki warned.

"Well I better be going, just wanted to let you know. Be sure to let Kasumi know as well, I was unable to contact her." Soun smiled.

"We will daddy, have a nice trip." Akane waves as Soun vanished and the holo grid died away.

"He's going to get swindled again." Nabiki groaned.

"Well it is his money." Akane sighed. "Mother left everything to him."

"I'm just worried there won't be any left for us when he kicks the bucket." Nabiki smirked cruelly and Akane rewarded her by throwing one of the couch pillows at her.

--

"The shipment was stopped as we had suspected." A male holo image in an old fashioned tuxedo with a white rose pinned to his chest spoke. His face was without eyes, nose, or mouth. "He appeared again."

"He is a nuisance and should be dealt with!" A young girl screeched in a high pitched voice, she wore a pink frilly wide skirt victorian dress as she twirled a matching sun umbrella over her head. Her face, like the mans, had no details.

"They have plans for him. We must follow their judgment." Mother spoke appearing in her heavy, elegant dress that showed a generous amount of cleavage.

"I agree with sister." A boy in old fashioned farm ware overalls and frayed straw hat spoke as he chewed on a shoot of wheat which was unnerving as he had no mouth for it to enter.

"Brother agrees with me. Let's deal with him" Sister demanded.

"But father does not. Nor do I." Mother spoke as the man in a tuxedo nodded in agreement.

"What about baby?" The boy asked and all turned to the center of the dark room where a glowing infant lay in a beam of light crying loudly.

"Baby is not complete." Mother stated.

"Baby needs more time." Father added.

"Baby must rest." Sister agreed.

"Baby will be the best." Brother smile..

"May the family be forever." The four chorused as the light in the room began to dim.

"He will continue to be for now. The plan is in motion." Father spoke.

"The plan will bring us happiness." Sister squealed.

"The plan will bring us victory." Brother grinned.

"The plan will bring us peace." Mother smiled just as the light completely vanished from the room along with herself and her family.

--

End

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End file.
